A Promise Is A Promise
by Astrid Midnight
Summary: AU What if Beth had survived the fall? What if she teamed up with the Flamethrower Guy and set out to protect her friends and save her sister after their disappearance? Beth made a promise and she intends to keep it.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **I'm aware that this idea may have been done to death, but I just had to get this out there before I exploded. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

The weight of her sister wasn't the only thing that was pulling her down; the gravity of the decision had to make weighed heavily on her mind as the stranger held his hand out to help her. It would be so easy: just let her go. She would live. But at the cost of her twin dying and she didn't deserve that. Taking one final look at the man above them and then her sister, she let her grip on the branch loosen and their screams soon filled the air.

It felt as if they were falling forever yet so fast at the same time. It crushed Beth's heart to hear Hannah's helpless shrieks. She wished she could been strong enough to save the two of them. But she couldn't. And she would rather die than kill her own sister.

Their bodies slammed into the ground and they both tumbled down a hill, the scene now completely silent save for the sound of the chilling and howling wind.

"Hannah!", Beth called out. "Hannah, _please_ wake up!"

Hannah's vision came back in tiny dots and soon cleared to see her sister before her. Her face looked battered and bruised and her clothing was ripped and torn in various places. Tears stung her eyes despite the relieved smile on her face.

The twin embraced her sister. "Oh Hannah.", she sighed. "I though you were dead."

That word caught Hannah's attention. She was more than relieved to see her sister alive in front of her, but soon her mind immediately snapped back to what happened previously.

"Beth. I don't understand." She looked around to see that the two of them were in some type of cavern. "Where are we?"

She rubbed the bruise on her head, straining to remember. "After we fell from that cliff I carried you down here. It was freezing out there."

"But where is 'here'?" Hannah's voice cracked, afraid to hear the answer.

Beth shook her head. "I have no idea. I didn't even know this place existed."

Suddenly, a sharp pain shot through Hannah's leg and she writhed in agony, causing Beth to jump in shock. "Hannah what's wrong!?"

She whimpered. "I think my leg's busted."

"Shit.", Beth muttered. Tonight wasn't really their night: her sister had gotten pranked by her own friends, ran out to who knows where in the freezing cold without a jacket and then driven off a cliff by someone. No… some _thing_. And now they were trapped, with no hope of rescue.

"H-h-help will come, r-r-right?", Hannah stuttered but Beth couldn't tell if it was from the cold or just plain fear. "Someone would have to come looking for us."

Looking up from where they fell, Beth could tell the answer was obvious: no one was going to find them down there. Not where they wouldn't think to look. But they were both alive and together and that was good enough for Beth.

For her sister, she would have to stay strong. "Yeah. Someone will come." She took her sister back in her arms and they both laid back against a rock with no clue of what they could do. After a while, Beth began to shiver; she was so fucking cold.

Her twin noticed and immediately felt guilty for taking her coat. She began to unzip the pink jacket. "Here. Take your coat."

She shook her head. "It's fine, besides you need it more than me."

"Are you sure?" Before Hannah could continue, Beth stood up from where she was sitting.

"Maybe there's a way out from here.

Hannah knew what she was suggesting and frantically shook her head, gripping her sister's hand tight. "No, please. Don't leave me."

"I won't go far, I promise. Just to find out exactly where we are."

Hannah attempted to stand up. "I'll come with you." However, as soon as she tried to stand up her bad leg gave out, Beth catching her and setting back to the ground before she could collapse.

"No. Your leg's busted. I'll go on my own." But Hannah took her hand again. She knew the two of them didn't want to be alone but if there was a way to escape, they would have to take the risk. Beth knelt down and hugged her. "Just stay here. Anything happens, I'll come running straight back."

"Promise?"

She smiled warmly. "Promise."


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

* * *

Beth clutched herself tightly as the chilling wind from above started to make her sweater prick at her skin. She looked up and around the cave she and her sister were now trapped in. She had been away from her twin for about several minutes for a possible escape route but to no avail. The teen sighed and then shivered frantically as her clothes couldn't protect her from the cold any longer. In desperate need of some kind of help, Beth began to pick up the pace, now searching for any source of warmth instead to escape.

The further she ventured into the caverns, the darker it became. Beth reached into her pocket but swore under her breath when she remembered that she dropped her phone. Now their possible means of rescue was gone. Fucking brilliant. Curiosity and some form of relief sparked in her when she saw something in the distance. She quickly stepped over the rocky pathway and over to her discovery. It felt as if a heavy weight was lifted off her shoulders when she found a nearby door and a green jacket hanging next to it.

"Now we're talking.", she said to herself as she slipped the coat on, already feeling much warmer. Beth wanted nothing more than to sprint back to Hannah to tell her the news, but figured to check it out since that she could be leading them to a dead end for all she knew. She mustered all her strength to open the door and, after several tries, it finally gave way.

"Y!", she said to no one in particular. But as soon she stepped in, she heard some kind of screeching in the distance. Steadying her resolve, she ventured further into the room, unsure of what was about to come. To her surprise nothing was happening when she was now in the middle of the room.

Suddenly, when she turned a corner she could someone walking in her direction. The stranger from the previous night. Beth figured that he saw her since he was now picking up the pace and telling her to stop. But she was paralysed. She didn't know what to do. She took a few steps back but then stumbled to the ground.

She began to whimper as the old man was now towering over her. But instead of expecting him to end it all he put a finger to his lips, signalling for her to stay quiet, and helped her to her feet.

Beth saw his noticeable flamethrower and was about to say something but the stranger stopped her. Another screech was heard. This time, very close. "Quiet.", he whispered. "And don't move."

The teen complied and stood as still as she could. The closer the sound got the deeper her nails dug into her skin. What was coming closer? An animal? No, Beth thought. An animal wouldn't make her this scared half to death.

Then she saw it. The thing that was chasing her and Hannah. The inhuman figure swooped into the room and crawled in, all in one move. The sudden movement caused Beth to yelp in fear, instantly regretting it. The monster whipped its head in their direction and bared it teeth, ready to attack. Beth was unable to hold in her fear and soon manifested in a terrified scream.

The stranger swore under his breath and raised his flamethrower. "Get back!", he yelled, but Beth wasn't sure if he was taking to her or the monster. It could've been either, since the creature sprug back and started to scale the walls, still crawling closer. He raised his weapon up to the wall. "Run! Get out of here!"

She was still frozen in fear by what she was seeing. The animalistic shrieks snapped her out of her reverie and remembered that she was facing certain death. With all the fight she had left, she sprinted back through the door, making sure to close it behind her.

Her number one priority was getting back to Hannah. How could she be so fucking stupid?! She left her sister out in the cold now completely defenceless against a monster that could've reach her by now. Her fears and worries clouded her mind causing her to not look where she was going and tripping over some sharp rocks. She winced in pain but had enough determination to ignore it and keep running.

Just when she thought she was getting closer to her sister, the familiar screams could now be heard from above her. Beth didn't know whether to run or freeze when the monster was directly above her. The thing slowly scaled the ceiling not detracting it's gaze from the teen. Considering how fast those creatures moved, Beth knew it would be useless to try and outrun it. She stood completely still like a statue and there was so much fear inside her that she was biting her togue so hard that it was bleeding.

Her frantic breathing was apparently loud enough for _it_ to hear her. In a matter of seconds, _it_ was now level with her and was stalking towards her. Beth could feel it's chilling breath against her face when it snarled at her. The high pitch shrieks were enough to make her want to jump but she remembered… _don't move_.

Beth was ready to beg for her life as she saw its talons reach towards her, when she caught the sight of a flame in the corner of her eye.

"Hey!", the old man yelled. He released another flame. "Over here!" The creature snarled in his direction and left Beth as if she were never there. She let an elongated breath out until she started running again before _it_ could come back, despite her worry for the man that saved her life.

She was now very close to where she left Hannah but from her distance could see that she was gone. More than just worry seeped into her bones as she feared her worst nightmare was coming true.

"Hannah!", she called out. There was no answer. "Hannah!" She sounded more and more desperate after every attempt. A loud and helpless shriek echoed throughout the caves and Beth could immediately tell who it was. She called out her name one final time. She waited forever for a response but didn't hear one. The heartbroken teen dropped to the cold ground and let out a scream that could be heard all the way across the caverns and back.

The monster had now caught up with her again but a distraught Beth made no attempt to hide her position. She closed her eyes, ready for death. A tear of fear and hopelessness rolled down her cheek and was soon crying her eyes out. That… _thing_ was once again ready to rip her to shreds. Despite its screeches, everything around her went silent.

She was alone. She broke her promise.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

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She didn't know whether it was the biting wind or the feeling of pure despair, but Beth didn't turn her head to let the monster know what it did to her. It took her sister. Or worse. With all that was going on that night, she couldn't help but assume worse. She kept on bawling as if the creature wasn't there and didn't show any attempt at defence.

Just when the monster screeched in her ear, Beth readying herself for her demise, it was engulfed in a wave of flames prickling at the teens's face. With everything that was going on around her, Beth covered her face in her hands and completely collapsed to the cold rocky ground uncaring of the madness in front of her.

She squeezed her eyes up and covered her ears as she tried her hardest to shut out the sounds of the monster being destroyed with the stranger's flamethrower. Once the screams came to an end, so did the creature's movement.

It took her forever, but Beth managed to muster up the courage to look up at the man before her. Her head snapped to the creature and frantically backed away in fear when a flaming face emerged from the body and swirled away as a scream was heard.

All she could do was stare. She had no idea what the hell was going on and the only thing she could think about was Hannah and how selfish she was to leave her like that.

The stranger came up to her she extended a hand to help her up. Beth, with a shaking hand, slowly took the man's hand and pulled herself up. He cautiously turned his head in all directions, not letting his guard down and still tightly clutching his flamethrower.

He looked back at the teen. "We better get outta here before the other one comes back." And with that, he left. Beth watched him go, unsure of what to do at this point. On the one hand, she barely knew who this man was so why should she trust him? On the other, however, he saved her life and despite everything she had experienced that night, she didn't exactly want to run into one of those things again.

It was a no brainer. Wiping her blurry eyes dry, she hastily followed after him.

* * *

The old man led Beth out of the unknown territory showing that, if you travelled long enough, there's actually a possible way out. He opened a door and a huge gust of cold wind burst in almost knocking Beth down. Even with the green jacket on, her body was still shivering frantically. She looked to the stranger for any kind of expression but got nothing.

Dragging her feet through the snow, she ventured further and further with her saviour for several minutes (in complete silence) until they came face to face with a towering building that looked a tad sinister in the dark.

Beth had never seen anything like it before and something about the place just screamed danger. From the outside it looked pretty old and decayed and dreaded knowing what the purpose of it was. She almost had a heart attack when she saw the stranger open the door and enter the building. Was he fucking suicidal? Given what he was up against minutes ago, her mind answered yes.

Reluctantly, she followed him through the door against her better judgement. She looked all around her and saw that somehow the building was even bigger than the outside. The whole place was dark and gloomy and looked as if was about to fall apart. Even the mere sight of it could strike fear into one's heart. If this was where the stranger lived, then he must've had guts.

The awkward silence between the two became unbearable for Beth as she was desperate to know what the hell was going on. As they passed through another doorway, Beth was ready to ask her questions, when a feral animal jumped out and blocked her path.

She jumped and backed away in fear as the wolf growled at her, bearing its teeth like it was ready to attack her. The stranger turned around at the noise and casually walked over to the animal. To Beth's surprise and confusion, he petted the wolf softly like it was a dog and he instantly calmed down, but was still weary at the sight of Beth.

The old man chuckled. "Sorry about that. They're not a big fan of strangers." Beth was about to ask " _They_?" but another wolf trotted over to man's side, whom he also stroked, answering her question.

The two of them continued walking, with Beth keeping a cautious eye on the two wolves making sure that they didn't attempt at pouncing at her. They soon came to a stop at what appeared to be a small camp. The stranger took a seat and Beth did the same. He took his bag off his back and started rummaging through it like Beth wasn't there. She just sat there awkwardly.

Her mind drifted to Hannah. She was still trying to comprehend what had happened and what she saw. She had come face to face with an inhuman creature but Hannah could've endured worse. Just by looking at it, she could tell that this was no harmless creature. It almost ripped her to shreds. That possibility made her think about her sister. A million scenarios ran through her head as to what could be happening to her right now. For the sake of her sanity, she pushed those thoughts down.

She looked back at the old man who was now writing in some sort of notebook. She couldn't bear the silence any longer.

"Do you mind telling me what is going on?", she demanded, getting sick of the man ignoring her.

He looked up at her with a uninterested expression. "You're welcome for saving your life."

"Yeah, well where were you when my sister was in danger?", she spat, trying to fight back tears.

The man leaned in, showing that he was now dead serious. "Your sister was left alone with that thing; she was already dead."

Beth couldn't believe what she was hearing. Was he seriously blaming her for what happened? The more she thought about it, the more distraught she felt. No. It wasn't true. Hannah was out there, she knew it.

"I don't believe that for a second." The stranger raised an eyebrow at her, a little impressed at her confidence.

He then chuckled. "If you knew what was goin' on in these mountains, then you would."

"Then tell me.", she demanded. She had to know. She deserved to know.

The old man shook his head. Was this girl serious? "No. I only came to save your skin." He stood up. "The least I can do is take you back to your friends."

Beth followed suit and didn't let her crippling fear faze her. "And tell them what? That my sister's missing?! Or worse?!" She balled her fists as she tried to keep her burning fury at bay. "I'm not leaving without Hannah."

"I told you, she's already dead."

The more she heard _that_ word, the more she wanted to punch him. "And I told you that I don't believe it." She thought about her friends and her family. "I can't face them. Not when I was supposed to protect her and failed. I won't be able to live with myself if I leave it like this."

The old man turned his back to her and stood there for several moments as if he were deep in thought. He came to the conclusion that this girl was suicidal and didn't know the first thing about surviving in the mountains. But he couldn't keep this secret for long. If he did return Beth to her friends, then they'd all be pulled into some investigation, giving him no chance of defeating the monsters. She didn't seemed fazed by his protests and could tell that she wasn't backing down anytime soon.

He turned back and Beth hadn't moved a muscle. She stood there searching his face for any kind of response. He picked up his bag. "Alright. I'll tell ya what we're up against and what goes on in these mountains. But I'm warning ya, it's more than dangerous."

Beth couldn't tell if she was supposed to be relieved or terrified. "So you're gonna tell me what those… _things_ were?", she asked nervously.

The stranger chuckled and walked up to the teen. "Tell ya? I'm gonna _show_ ya."

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 **So as you can tell things are about to get interesting. Thanks to everyone reading the story and hope you enjoyed.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **Hey guys! Here's the next chapter! Thanks to all you guys for being patient and enjoying the story. Special thanks to those awesome people for the reviews. They really keep me motivated to write!**

* * *

"So let me get this straight…", Beth said as she cautiously walked through the so-called Sanatorium. "The monsters out there are actually Wendigos that are here because of a spirit that possesses someone if they resort to cannibalism in the mountains."

"That's right.", the stranger replied as he led them, along with his wolves further down. He had told her the history of the miners and the Sanatorium and how the mountain had been infested with Wendigos for years. Over time, he had learned everything he would need to know about them and would use this knowledge to contain the threat and protect the mountain.

Beth couldn't believe what she was hearing. She had come to this mountain many times with her family and friends but never knew a curse infested the mountain. Then she thought about the flamethrower guy. He said that he'd been hunting those things for years without anyone noticing. If it wasn't for him battling them in the shadows, she would've been dead before that night.

She scratched her head trying to process and understand the information thrown at her. "But… if you knew about the monsters then… why didn't you tell anyone?"

He turned to look at Beth over his shoulder. "Listen kid, if I'd told you last week that this mountain carried a curse, would you have believed me?" Beth scratched her head again, understanding that the man had a point. If he had told her then she would've thought he was crazy. "Besides I tried warning your family about building on the mountain but they wouldn't listen. Nothing I could do after that."

She couldn't think of a response to that. She knew that someone did have some vendetta against building on the mountain but cursed creatures wasn't exactly the first thing that came to mind. Maybe if someone had listened she wouldn't be in this messed up situation.

Out of nowhere, the two wolves beside them began to growl ferociously as if they sensed something before them. The stranger calmed them down and silently gestured for Beth to stay close.

"Walk slow and follow my every move.", he commanded quietly. Beth nodded her head and scurried closer towards him when she heard the familiar shrill of screams. She hoped that the Wendigos were somewhat contained as she wasn't ready to go head to head with them.

They turned to walk around a corner and Beth could see a line of several cells against each side of the corridor. Echoing from each of them were the growls of the Wendigo, waiting in the darkness to snatch up its next victim. Despite the surrounding darkness, Beth could see the creature's claws wrapped tightly around the bars like a snake.

She placed a fist to her chest as if it were doing something to ease her rapidly beating heart. She wanted to squeeze her eyes shut so that she wouldn't be able to look at those things in the eye, but shot the idea down since one wrong step could mean her demise.

The eerie sense of safety came to a close when a Wendigo jumped out and tried to snatch Beth. This time the bars were her saviour, putting her at arms length. She jumped back in fear and backed away, completely forgetting about the cell directly behind her.

Her heart felt like it was going to explode out of her chest when she felt the Wendigo snag her ankle. She yelped at its sickly and inhuman touch. She was brought back as the stranger tightly gripped her wrist and dragged her away from the creature. The two came across one cell where the monster was shackled by a chain that would pull it away from its prey whenever it came close. Beth heaved a somewhat sigh of relief at that extra measure.

The stranger led her to a good enough place for the two of them to stand and get a good look at all the Wendigos. They all glared at Beth with the same blood-hungry expression which made her inch away almost bumping into the old man.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. It scared her half to death to think that these remorseless creatures were once innocent human beings. Any shred of humanity left in them was gone like it was nothing. These were the things that took Hannah and now that she saw them this clearly, she began to have doubts if she ever escaped.

 _No._ , she thought. _She_ is _alive. She has to be._ Beth knew she was only getting her hopes up but right now hope was the only keeping her going.

"This is all of them?", she asked looking at Wendigos back and forth.

"Well-", he replied. "More or less. There's still a couple of them roaming the mountains and mines, not counting the one that almost got you."

"The one chasing me…" She squeezed her eyes shut. "Me and Hannah?"

The stranger shook his head. "No. That was the Makkapitew." He continued before Beth could answer as if he knew what she was going to ask next. "The most powerful of all the Wendigos. For years I tried hunting down it just like my grandfather. It wasn't until tonight I was able to track it down. But what I didn't account for was you. The Makkapitew was hunting the two of you and drove you off the cliff. Once I caught up, I doused the Wendigo with flames making sure it was gone for good."

"Wow." That was all Beth could say in response. It astonished her as to what dark secrets lied in the mountain and the terrifying history of the curse. This was definitely bigger than her and the stranger.

After he finished reminiscing, the old man shook his head. "So… Are you still willing to stay here? To hunt these monsters down?"

For a moment, Beth began to reconsider. If she stayed here, it would mean throwing her whole life away for a new one when for all she knew she could be dead any second. It would mean abandoning her friends and family who would have to live thinking she was dead.

But her sister was still out there. And if she left knowing she had the chance to save her, the pain would be more than crushing. She was going to save her sister and she couldn't do it alone.

"Yes.", she replied firmly, with a sense of determination that she didn't know she had. "I know Hannah's out there and I'm gonna find her."

The stranger grinned slightly at her determination but was still confused by decision. He was stuck here, bound to this lifestyle with no sense of escaping the nightmare. But Beth had the chance to go in the blink of an eye and refused. Sure it was for her sister but she could be risking her life for someone that may not be alive anymore. If she was going to help him she would need a bit of experience.

"Suit yourself.", he said. He walked away from the Wendigos back to where they came from. Beth followed suit now being more aware of the Wendigos' claws and a little more confident than before, but still a little jittery.

Once the inhuman cries were out of hearing distance, the stranger picked something up from a nearby table.

A shotgun!

Beth's eyes widened at the sight and almost screamed when he handed the weapon to her. It felt unnatural in her hands. She never thought she would one day shoot someone with her own hands. But these weren't people, they were monsters that took Hannah away. Beth had to accept that if she was going to fulfil her promise.

"You ever shot one of these before?", the stranger asked.

Beth raised an eyebrow like he was telling a really bad joke. "Of course not. Guns are the last thing I want right now."

"Too bad. We're gonna catch one of the Wendigos but you're gonna need some form of defence."

Beth let out a shaky sigh. "Okay."

He looked at her sternly. "You sure you wanna do this."

She felt the touch of the shotgun for a moment and imagined the face of all the Wendigos and then the memory of Hannah's shrieks.

"Yeah. Let's do this.", she said. As the stranger began leading her up the nearby stairway, she paused. "You know, you never told me your name."

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! Next chapter should have some action in it!**

 **XXX**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **Okay. I will admit I went off the map for the last few months, but life just got in the way and it's the kind of thing you can't ignore and would take up most of your time, so I can't thank you guys enough for being patient with this story.** **However, I have been constantly thinking of ideas about where I'm going to take this story and I think I have a pretty solid one, like how Beth living is going to affect the plot of the main game (because you know... Butterfly Effect) and a few things I'm considering playing around with.**

 **QUICK NOTE:** **I did say last chapter that this one would have a bit of action, but when I came to writing it there were some things that I had to write down before I could get to it and it became longer than I thought. So I decided to split the sections into separate chapters. This one will be posted now and the other will be up some time tomorrow.**

 **So without further ado, the long awaited chapter(s)!**

* * *

The stranger, now named Jack, decided to teach Beth some self-defence with a shotgun just in case she was forced to combat with a Wendigo. Given the situation they were in, the possibility was more than inevitable. She had worried that the shooting of the gun would draw the attention of the Wendigos (since disturbing a Wendigo would be the equivalent of waking a bear from its slumber only much worse), but Jack had reassured her that the bars and chains were enough to keep them restrained. For some reason, that still didn't ease her.

He had set up several cans and bottles along a table for Beth to practice her skills, although she had to keep in mind that the real life target was a cursed and merciless monster.

Taking a shaky breath, Beth aimed the shotgun at the first bottle in her line of sight. Then she began to tremble losing all feeling in her arm, unable to pull the trigger. Why was she so tense? It was just a beer bottle for fucks sake!

Maybe it was because she terrified of the fact of actually shooting and possibly killing things. The last thing Beth wanted to do was become a corrupted killer. Was she even ready for this?

In a moment of blind panic, she pulled the trigger, the shot missing the beer bottle completely and hitting the wall on the other side of the room. She yelped at the sound of the shot as it rang out through the facility and the duo instantly heard the cries of the Wendigos. Beth's head darted towards the staircase and snapped the gun up in fear. She began to hyperventilate at the chance of a Wendigo breaking out from captivity and consuming her its prey.

Jack slowly put his hand on the gun and gently lowered it allowing Beth to calm down. When she realised that she wasn't in any real danger and her protector was still by her side, her nerves calmed.

"That's alright.", he said plainly. "Let's try that again." Beth simply nodded in agreement and raised the gun back up to the bottle. "Just take a deep breath, keep your arms steady and pull the trigger."

Step one: deep breath (which lasted for about two minutes). Step two: arms steady. Her nerves got the better of her and had to repeat the steps several times. Step three: it took her a while but, once she ignored the sickly feeling in her stomach, she pulled the trigger.

The shot rang out again, the Wendigos sounding more agitated than they already were. But in that moment it didn't matter. All Beth could hear was a shattering sound and the crackling of glass as it exploded onto the ground.

She did it. She made her first proper shot.

Beth heaved a sigh of relief and gave out a half-laugh half-cry. Jack grumbled in response, only a little impressed by her _first_ shot.

"Alright.", he said, bringing Beth back from her shock. "Again."

The teen was speechless. Did she really do that badly? Or was he just being an asshole? She shrugged it off and aimed the weapon at a can. She felt a little more confident now that she made a good shot, but the fact the she was gripping an instrument of death was still overwhelming for her.

She practiced her skills on several other targets only missing once every few times. Beth was strangely proud of her progress. If she was being completely honest, she had shot a gun once before at her dad's shooting range. Even after a few pointers, she couldn't even hit the larger and closer targets. Sure, she was still no expert, but at least she was getting there.

After a few more attempts, she managed to breathe, "Okay. I think I'm good."

* * *

"So… when are going out to face those things?", she asked. Part of her wanted the answer to be never but the other just wanted to get the nightmare over with.

The old man walked over to the window and could see the sunrise staring to peek out from the horizon. The Wendigos may not be able to hunt during the day though they still posed a threat in the shadows. But it had been an eventful night and figured they both needed the break.

"Not just yet. It's almost dawn and the Wendigos only hunt at night.", he informed.

Beth nodded in understanding as she was a little relieved that she was starting to learn more about these mysterious creatures.

He continued. "We'll be safe outside but won't be able to trap them until nightfall." Jack motioned for Beth to set down the shotgun and she complied, still trying to comprehend how much her life had changed in a matter of hours.

"Then… what do we do until then?", she asked, unsure of what to do.

Jack turned to walk away. " _I'm_ gonna scout the Sanitarium, make sure everything's still in working order."

Beth was gobsmacked. Was he seriously going to leave her alone? In _this_ place?! She took a step forward. "Can't I come with you?", she asked quickly. "I still need to know what goes on here."

At first he stopped in his tracks and grumbled in response. He then sighed and kept on walking. That response was enough for Beth to start catching up with him.

Over the next several hours, Jack gave Beth a tour of the Sanitarium to show her what was going on in the twisted game that took place in the mountains. She forced herself to swallow her own vomit when he told and _showed_ her bruised and decaying limbs used to lure the Wendigos into captivity. Based on the traps and baits he'd set up, she began to wonder just how many people had died in the past as preys to the malicious monsters.

She then began to worry that more Wendigos would come out to hunt them. But Jack had put her at ease when he informed her that during the day, they retreat into the shadows of the mines (Oh yeah, turns out _freaking mines_ were now added to her list of never-ending worries).

However, despite all the thoughts racing through her head, there was still one lingering in her mind. Her sister. Her friends. Her family. It had been several hours since she left the safety of the lodge and all her friends were probably out looking for her. She couldn't be able to comprehend the terror they could possibly be feeling.

Because of her.

But she pushed those thoughts down. Even if she was hanging onto a glimmer of false hope, it was still enough to keep her determined.

The day seemed to drag on for Beth and she just spent the remaining hours of it to hone in on her gun skills, half convinced her bullseye shots were just dumb luck. She still had a _lot_ to learn.

Eventually, nightfall came and Jack had warned her to stay alert, as the Wendigo would now have the opportunity to roam anywhere and everywhere. Even if it was only for a matter of hours, anything could happen in one night.

By the time they'd done one final sweep of the ruined facility, the sun had retired and the monsters were out to play.

Despite Beth not knowing whether she was ready or not to tackle the Wendigos, she shoved her crippling fears down and plastered a determined look on her face. Jack didn't waver; he was more focused to capturing the creature.

As they exited the Sanitarium, Jack began to explain his plan of action, not looking back at the young teen following behind him.

"Alright. First, we gonna go deep into the mines where the Wendigo is most likely hiding. We're gonna lure and direct the thing back to the Sanitarium where I left a cell, with human limbs, open. Hopefully they won't catch us on the way back."

Beth couldn't help but wince at the words 'human' and 'limbs', but was shocked at his deadpan statement. That they may not survive the night. She wanted to snap at him for saying things like that, but instead decided to change the subject.

"How do we know if it'll be in the mines?" For some reason, it felt weird to refer to the Wendigo as _it_.

Jack glanced back over his shoulder at the question. She had expected him to dismiss her but he simply replied. "Well, they do adhere to some patterns. Within the first hour or so they usually stay in one place before they hunt in other places."

"Oh. Why?", she responded.

She heard Jack chuckle lowly. "I didn't ask."


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **Here's the other half of the chapter! Enjoy!**

* * *

Once he had led Beth down the rocky and crooked pathway for several minutes, Jack had warned her to be vigilant as they entered the hidden mines. Beth tried to keep her senses in check, but couldn't help but focus on the site of the crumbling infrastructure. He had told her about the disaster in the mines and had began to wonder how bad is was back then.

The further they ventured in the mines the darker it began to get. With every step Beth took the sickly feeling in her stomach became more and more overwhelming. The feeling got worse when she saw a small pile of bones and skulls, their hollow eyes that bored a hole in her heart. Squeezing her eyes shut and putting a hand over her mouth, she swallowed forcefully and pushed herself to keep up.

The mines were like a maze. There was no doubting that. There were infinite pathways to take and some even led to eroding ladders that could take them to a whole other level of possible routes. But Jack seemed to have a good idea of where to search.

With every step Beth took, the crumbling of the stones and pebbles were the only sound filling her ears. She wasn't exactly able to make light-hearted conversation with her saviour if death was waiting for them around the corner. But at the same time, she wanted to know more about him. What he's been doing, how he's been doing it, and how was he able to survive in the mountains all these years without anyone to watch his back.

These were all questions she wanted answers to but she was too afraid to ask, so she pushed them to the back of her mind and made sure they stayed there.

Suddenly, Jack stopped in his tracks, with Beth almost bumping into him. A hungry growl was heard from directly in front of them. He put a finger to his lips.

Her heart stopped. Her breathing ceased. Her eyes widened in horror.

There it was. The Wendigo, mere meters from them.

Jack tightly grabbed her wrist and whispered, "Don't move.", and she automatically complied. She was so badly to close her eyes so she didn't have to look at the sickly creature but if she did for a second, she could kiss her life goodbye.

The creature's snapped in their direction, it's dim milky eyes and razor teeth shaking Beth to the core. She gasped quietly when they locked eyes, but Jack's grip on her tightened.

She could already hear him think, _Don't even think about it._

The Wendigo pounced onto the walls, it's head darting in all different directions. Beth was gobsmacked as to how it hadn't seen them yet. Then Beth thought, _Maybe they_ can't _see us._

A few moments later, the Wendigo dropped down in front of them and was now inches away from Beth's face. It bared its teeth and snarled in her ear. The high pitch shriek was almost too much for her to bear. She bit down on her lip so hard that it almost started to bleed. Slowly, she reached up a hand to her chest to feel her heart beating rapidly that only began to ease slightly when, for some reason, the Wendigo abandoned its hunt for potential prey and turned it's attention elsewhere. For a fleeting moment, Beth felt reassured at her strange form of safety.

The creature was facing away but still quite close to the duo. It crouched on the ground, scanning all places possible. It snapped in their direction for a second and back but the two didn't waver.

Beth leaned in close to Jack. "What do we do now?", she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Jack stepped back, his eyes not leaving the distracted Wendigo. "Get ready to run. If the Wendigo catches up, the shotgun will knock it back to buy you time. I'll drive into the cell using the fire."

She couldn't comprehend what was going on. The shotgun _wouldn't kill it!_ But the flames could? It perplexed Beth about the mystery behind the Wendigo.

 _If I could survive._ , she thought. Right. The running. Based on Jack's advice and resolve, she figured it would give her a small advantage if she was more alert of where the Wendigo was. In the confined mines, it would have more of a chance of snatching her from the walls but once she reached the crisp cold landscape again, she would have more freedom to move around.

"Okay.", she replied, finally about to face off with the animal, fear bubbling inside her ready to erupt.

With the Wendigo still distracted, Beth took few shaky steps back, ready to split at a moment's notice. Unfortunately, timing wasn't on their side and the Wendigo's enhanced vision caught wind of her subtle movements. Beth swore she saw a sickly smile forming on the monster's inhuman face.

Jack swore under his breath and immediately fired his flamethrower as the Wendigo pounced. "Go!"

At first Beth was reluctant to go on alone but as the Wendigo flinched from the fire, her feet were already sprinting away. She tightly clutched the shotgun as she watched where she was going. She looked back. She wasn't sure if that was Jack or the Wendigo gaining on her. Nevertheless, she kept going.

She eventually found her way back to the entrance of the mines and was greeted by the freezing cold. Beth looked around. She wasn't exactly sure what to do now. The echoes of the Wendigo were carried by the howling wind which prompted her to continue along the path she was on.

Sprinting through the snow, the biting wind against her face threatened to tear at the skin. Her heart was beating faster than ever and she could already feel herself becoming breathless.

As if on cue, the Wendigo was now directly behind her. Beth whipped around and raised the shotgun at it. The monster was already prepared to pounced. It felt as if time was slowing down. If she couldn't make this shot it would be over for her.

She was laser-focused on her target and didn't let the creature's instincts break her focus. With a deep breath, she let the bullet fly from the barrel directly towards the Wendigo's chest and the impact sent it back a few feet.

As much as Beth wanted to heave a sigh of sweet relief, she instead continued her threatening endeavour towards the Sanitarium, her only hope of containing the beast.

Her eyes darted to the swaying trees when she caught the Wendigo crawling up the trunk until it was directly above her. She skidded to a stop and raised the shotgun once again. The Wendigo let out a feral snarl but ceased for a moment when the bullet knocked it back.

"Yeah!", Beth exclaimed, the adrenaline pulsing through her veins.

The Wendigo scrambled back on all fours, but before it could attack again, flames appeared by its side making it flinch away.

"Get back!", Jack ordered as he let out another array of flames. Beth stumbled back a few steps before tripping over a jagged rock. The stinging pain shot through her entire body and the snow made her more freezing than she already was. Jack shot the flames again and bought him enough time to shove Beth to her feet and tell her to keep running.

The Wendigo shook off their defences like they were nothing and began gaining on them. As if some instinct kicked into her, Beth whipped around and focused her sights on the beast. For some reason, the thrill wasn't as scary anymore. It was still terrifying, but the adrenaline of the action made her dismiss it for a moment. The shot rang out in the distance, carried by the wind, along with the Wendigo's somewhat injured cries.

"Yeah!", she cried. For a split second, Jack actually looked like he was impressed with her newfound skill, but then motioned for her to stay ahead.

"Don't get cocky kid.", she heard him mutter. He was right. Ignore the threat for even a moment could mean their demise. Beth let out a shaky breath and continued their race across the mountain.

Beth only had to shoot the shotgun twice after that; thanks to Jack's expertise with the flamethrower, he was able to keep the Wendigo a healthy distance from them. They could see the Sanitarium just up ahead and for Beth was actually glad to get back there.

Beth practically flew up the steps and burst through the heavy doors. Once Jack was inside, he grabbed her by the shoulder to get her attention. They didn't have a lot of time left.

"Alright.", he said. "You're gonna make sure the Wendigo is led towards the cage while I drive inside with the fire. Once it's inside, you lock it up."

Before Beth could respond, Jack was already gone. "Wait, we're using me as _live bait_ now!?", she protested.

However, her attention had to be towards elsewhere as the Wendigo crawled through the doorway, it's head darting around all the possible pathways.

To stop the Wendigo from being drawn away, Beth yelled, "Hey!" It snarled in her direction, signalling that it was time for her to move it.

As she sprinted towards the corridor of cages, she saw one of the wolves growling threateningly. Whether it was towards her or the Wendigo was unclear until he was running alongside Beth when she ran past.

Suddenly, her mind clicked into place when she saw several bony arms reaching out from the bars, causing her to duck and practically jump over them. Jack motioned for her to hurry up and get behind him as he readied his flamethrower.

This was it.

The Wendigo was already flying down the line of cages, its sights dead-set on the two people at the end. However, it was getting a little _too_ close for Beth's liking. She instinctively raised her gun as The Wendigo leapt from its position ready to devour its prey. It's skeletal body and blood-soaked teeth filled her vision and she tried her hardest not to scream or vomit.

Just as it came inches from their bodies, Jack released a final burst of flames causing the Wendigo to instantly dodge away and straight into confinement.

"Hurry!", he yelled as he continued to drive the Wendigo further into the cage. In an instant, Beth rushed over. The heat felt intense against her skin as she reached for the rusted metal and Jack stopped the fire once she clamped the cage shut. She let out a large and shaky sigh, unable to believe the night she was having.

She did it. She _actually_ did it; she faced and caught a Wendigo, a creature she didn't believe existed until that night.

As Jack made sure the cage was locked up securely, Beth was so overwhelmed by the whole ordeal that she didn't move away from the cage.

All of a sudden, the Wendigo's head and arm burst through the bars, pulling her arm towards it. She shrieked and her heart thumped hard in her chest almost sending her into a heart attack. She tried to squirm away from its gnawing teeth but it was no use against its vice-like grip. Jack was already by her side and their combined strength was just enough to rip her arm away from the cage as Beth felt a painful throbbing in her arm.

As she frantically backed away, she clamped a hand on her arm, but noticed that the coat sleeve was torn. She lifted her hand and saw that it was now slick with blood. Wasting no time, she rolled up the sleeve.

She was injured. Bleeding. Bitten.

 _Great._

* * *

 **Thanks for reading! See you guys next chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

* * *

Once Beth saw the distinctive bite mark, her mind went into overdrive as the pulsating pain was the only thing she could concentrate on.

She gritted her teeth as her cries echoed throughout the Sanitarium, the Wendigos screeching in response. The blood was seeping through the fabric and was already soaking the sleeve. However, all Jack could do was simply shake his head.

Jack simply sighed and silently muttered under his breath. Beth was still seething with pain. He grabbed her by the uninjured arm. "Come on."

As he led her back down the corridor, the two of them narrowly manoeuvred themselves around the still agitated Wendigos. Beth kept her slick hand glued to her arm. Looking back, she saw her attacker still peering out through the bars. She could see a mixture of annoyance and pleasure on its face.

Stopping their trek by the nearby table, Beth leaned against it still groaning in pain whilst Jack opened up his bag and swiftly pulled out a first aid kit. Beth was shocked about how calm and collected he was about the situation as she was inches away from death just seconds ago.

He set out a line of bandages and disinfectants on the table and motioned for Beth to roll up her sleeve again. Wincing slightly, she gingerly pulled it up to reveal her bloody arm. To her surprise, there wasn't anything out of the ordinary about the bite. At the time, she thought the curse of the Wendigo could affect those bitten by them or at least cause some strange growth. But it looked as if she were bitten by a dog.

When Jack poured the alcohol onto the bite, Beth quickly flinched away but he simply pulled her arm closer so he could wipe the blood off to take a good look at the damage. To their relief the bite wasn't too bad but still pretty serious.

"Looks like you're gonna need stitches.", he said, taking out a needle and some thread.

Beth's eyes widened in shock. "What?!" The pain continued to throb and she could already feel tears shimmering from her eyes.

He took her arm and set it down on the table. Knowing full well what was coming next, Beth tightly gripped the edge of the table. Before she could comprehend anything else, Jack was already approaching the wound with the needle.

"Ready?", he asked.

"Uh-huh.", Beth choked out. "Just do it."

After a moment's hesitation, Jack jabbed the needle into her flesh. Beth yelped in pain as she felt her arm tense up. She didn't even care about the Wendigo's shrieks in response. For a moment she though the nightmare was over when the thread was pulled through but was brought back to reality when the needle was pushed through the other side. She screamed out again and gripped the table until her knuckles turned white.

"Don't worry.", Jack said. "Just a couple more time." The statement didn't stop Beth from hyperventilating.

As the needle was applied for the next suture, Beth gasped and then grabbed a nearby cloth for her to bite into. Of course it didn't cease the excruciating sensation but at least she wasn't crying out. Instead she groaned as hot tears streamed down her face.

Jack then told her that this was the last couple and Beth screwed her eyes shut. She bit down on the cloth so hard that her teeth almost tore through it. For the last couple of minutes all she could feel were the burning jolts of the needle and grunted when Jack had reached the end of the wound.

She practically felt the thread being pulled through the skin causing her to let out a few puffs of air to get her breathing in check. Jack then cut the thread from the needle and began to tie the ends.

"Relax.", he reassured. "You'll live." He carefully wrapped her arm in a few layers of bandages.

"Are you sure?", Beth asked, eyeing her injury worryingly. She felt somewhat stupid for asking that question; if Jack was the 'Wendigo expert', then she should trust him. But at the same time, she felt that she should still be weary. "Nothing bad will happen, right?"

Jack chuckled and rolled up his own coat sleeve to reveal his own stitched and bandaged arm, a little more further up than Beth's. "Does that look "bad" to you?" Beth silently mouthed an "oh" and Jack rolled his sleeve back down. "What did you think was gonna happen anyway?"

Beth shrugged, a little embarrassed. "I don't know. Maybe… turn into one of those things."

He chuckled again. "You watch too many of those movies."

She shifted her weight onto one foot. "It was just a thought."

Jack's eyes travelled to her arm, taking note of how she hadn't taken her hand off the injury. "How's it feelin'?"

The teen looked up and then back down at the bandages, now noticing her fingers were tracing the injury. "Still stings a little. But at least the worst is over.", she replied as Jack was placing his medical supplies back into his bag.

"I wouldn't say that. Just make sure you watch yourself when around a Wendigo. They can always catch you by surprise."

"I'll keep that in mind.", Beth replied.

* * *

When the moon began to disappear from the sky and the night began to brighten up, Beth had stood awkwardly by the table gripping her healing arm with one of the wolves sitting patiently beside her whilst Jack had retreated back with the other to the cage to make sure the Wendigo was trapped securely in the cage. She had wondered what would be taking so long but didn't want to navigate the Sanitarium alone.

Once he was back, he had set down his flamethrower and began rummaging through his bag again.

"You hungry?", he asked. As if on cue, her stomach began rumbling loudly making her question the last time she ate. The whole night had been exhilarating and she hadn't been thinking about those sorts of things when her life was hanging in the balance. And, possibly, her sister's.

"Now that you mention it, yeah, I guess I am.", she replied with a sheepish smile.

Using a match, Jack fired up an old camping stove and began heating up two cans of food. The two of them had sat down to eat and Beth was grateful to have some warm food.

As she ate another spoonful, she began to wonder. She paused. "So… if resorting to cannibalism turns people into Wendigos, how long is it before it… you know… happens?"

Jack set his can down and Beth did the same, knowing how serious this predicament was. "Actually, the Wendigo spirit is what _drives_ people to cannibalism in the first place. No matter how strong you think you are, without enough food for days, you're as good as dead."

Beth's eyes widened in shock.

"That's why it's best to trap the Wendigos instead of killing them. Sure, it's dangerous but it's better than letting the spirits possess other people."

"So that Wendigo you killed on the mountain and the one that almost killed me means…"

"There are still two roaming spirits in the mountains.", Jack finished.

"Right.", Beth said. She couldn't help but feel guilty; if she wasn't in this situation, Jack wouldn't have had to kill those Wendigos and release their spirits. If there were other demonic spirits in the mountains, then could that mean Hannah was just as vulnerable?

She quickly turned away and shut her eyes tight whilst simultaneously clamping her hands over her ears, trying to will the terrible thoughts away before her mind could wander any further.

She pushed the can away. "I think I've lost my appetite."

* * *

After Beth had half-finished her meal, Jack told her she could get some rest while he kept watch a little longer. He pointed her toward a room which she could sleep in and Beth quietly thanked him before leaving abruptly.

Entering the small room, she saw a battered mattress that looked it had seen better days. But Beth was just grateful that the night was over and could finally relax, even if it was for a few hours. She had to accept the fact that, if she was really going to do this, she'd have to learn that things won't get any easier.

For all she knew, her sister could already be dead or possessed and she'd be chasing a lost cause. But accustoming to this new way of life would be a better option than leaving Hannah to die. Until she searched every inch of the mountains and mines, she wasn't going anywhere.

Beth lied down on the tattered mattress and, after some consideration, placed the shotgun at two foot of the makeshift bed. For the next half hour or so, Beth found it hard to relieve the tension from her body and struggled to relax. She was so tired, but was afraid that if she fell asleep she wouldn't wake up.

She fought against her fears and let out a long sigh. All of a sudden, she heard a soft growl from the door and stiffened when she saw one of the wolves walking towards her. She half expected him to rip her to pieces but instead the animal lied down at the foot of the mattress. Reluctantly, she reached out and petted the wolf, who let out a satisfied growl.

Beth gently laid her head back down and slowly shut her eyes, now relaxed by the strange sense of comfort. Before she knew it, she drifted off to sleep.


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **Okay so updates have been a little inconsistent lately and for that I apologise. Because of how busy things are now, I'll try to update every 1-2 months instead of the monthly updates from before. Also, once again, I want give all my thanks to you guys for supporting my story!**

* * *

 _She was running. She didn't know where, but she was running. The crisp snow crunched under her boots and her hair bellowed in the wind as snowflakes danced around her. Beth didn't look where she was going which caused her to trip over a jagged rock on the ground. Her whole body ached for a moment but shook it off as she immediately scrambled to her feet and continued running._

 _Her sister was in trouble. That was the only thing that mattered. If she slowed down for a just a second, it could cost her her life._

 _Then a sudden scream made her freeze in place. It shook her to the core and it was more painful than anything she had ever experienced._

 _"Hannah!", she choked out. Nothing. "Hannah!" Another scream._

 _Wasting no more time, she regained her pace and resumed her sprint through the forest. The shrieks began to get louder and louder the further she ventured across the mountain. That_ could've _been a good sign; it meant she was getting closer._

 _Suddenly, another shriek echoed across the mountain. Except it wasn't like Hannah's. It was nothing like Hannah's. Beth was unsure to even call it human. But she didn't let it faze her. However, another one of those screams hit her like a trainwreck. It was close. Too close._

 _Pushing her way through some branches, she heard Hannah cry out again, which was followed by the sight of her lying in the snow. Completely still, life drained from her eyes and blood from her stomach staining the snow._

 _"NO! HANNAH!"_

 _Beth scrambled to her side and helplessly tried to get her sister's attention despite knowing her efforts would be futile. She pressed her fingers to her neck and became numb with shock when she couldn't find a pulse._

 _The sound of her own cries clogged her throat as she didn't know what to do. Wordlessly, she lifted Hannah's lifeless upper body so she could hug her sister to her chest. She didn't say or cry anything. What could she say?_

 _The inhuman shriek came again. This time it was right next to her. She shakily raised her head to see the Wendigo staring at her with obvious hunger. Too distraught over losing her sister, Beth turned her attention back to Hannah, now deciding to let sorrows out. She didn't even care about the monster raising its claw to strike._

 _"I'm so sorry…", she sobbed._

* * *

Beth came hurling back to consciousness in a cold sweat. She hugged herself tightly, breathing very heavily before she began to realise that she was hyperventilating. She took several minutes to calm her nerves and reassure herself that nothing in that dream was real.

 _It's okay._ , she thought. _I'm alive… she's alive._

 _Are you sure about that?_ , a voice at the back of her mind asked.

Before she could answer that, Beth rose to her feet and picked up the shotgun. Looking to the end of the small room, she only just realised the wolf had left at some point. Beth didn't know if was relieved or slightly disheartened.

Making her way back through the corridor and down the stairs, she could see Jack, with his flamethrower, feeding the two wolves. They waited patiently for a moment before Jack threw them their food. Beth was still surprised about how he was able to train feral animals like they were pets.

Looking out of a decaying windowsill, she could see the sun's light peeking through the trees, bathing the building a soft warm glow. It almost made the Sanitarium look a tad less sinister in the daylight (though it was still scary notheless).

She walked down the stairs and over to the older man, still unsure about how to interact with him. "Um… morning." She rubbed her bitten arm nervously.

Jack looked her way and nodded in response. "Morning. How's the arm?"

Beth was a little taken back by his concern. "Oh… yeah, it's better. Well, as good as it can be. It doesn't hurt anymore."

"Good.", Jack replied, throwing another piece of food to the wolves.

Beth walked over next to him, crossed her arms and looked down at the wolves. "I don't get it. How can you train two wolves like they're dogs?"

Jack chuckled. "It's wasn't really that hard. You just gotta show them that you're not a threat. After a while, they'll start treating you like companions and not potential prey."

"You make it sound so easy. What are their names?"

The old man looked at her like she had told a really bad joke. "What?"

The teen snorted. "Wait, you're saying in the time you've had them you never thought about giving them names?"

"No, because they're not pets."

"You literally throw them dog bones."

Jack grumbled. "I'm not having a conversation over this." And with that, he walked off to do one of the many duties he probably had on his mind.

Beth chuckled. It was strange. For the last day or so she had spent her time fighting to stay alive and now here she was joking around with an old man she knew absolutely nothing about.

Only that he trapped cursed and possessed monsters. Yeah, if she told that to anyone they'd think she's crazy.

Trying to find a way to kill time, she knelt down in front of the wolves who were still sitting around. She petted their ears and they whined in satisfaction.

Her mouth curved up on one side. "Why don't we give you guys names, hm?" The wolves didn't react but Beth figured as much. She rocked back on her heels and bit her lip. "Okay, um… how about for you-", she pointed to the one on the right. "Winter, 'cause it's always snowy up here." She pointed to the one on the left, presumably the one that slept by her bed the previous night. She was shot for ideas now. "And you… Wolfie." She sighed over dramatically.. "I know, I'm not that original with names, give me a break."

For some reason, she felt more at ease when talking to the wolves, even though the concept itself should've been a red flag that she was going insane. Although it probably made sense, seeing as she didn't really have anyone else to talk to…

A high-pitch screech from the other end of the room pulled her from her thoughts and instantly rose up to her feet, instinctively reaching for her shotgun. However, she was put at ease as Jack casually emerged from the corridor.

"Are they always that loud?", she asked.

"Get used to it.", he replied.

They stood in an awkward silence for several moments, neither making eye contact with each other. Beth wondered if Jack was just as uncomfortable about the situation as she was. She sat down and her eyes wandered to a nearby window. She considered her words before speaking.

"They're probably wondering where we are now."

Jack looked up at her as he grabbed his food. "Who? You're friends?" Beth didn't answer. "Well, it's only a matter of time before they bring the police here."

Her eyes shot up. "You don't think they'll find this place do you?" Beth thought that having the police crawling around the place wouldn't really help in her search for Hannah.

Jack shook his head. "It'll be ages before they figure out how to get from the mountain to the Sanitarium. The only known route is through the mines and I don't think they'll find those anytime soon."

"Oh.", was all Beth had to say in response, but she guessed it made sense. She thought that, even if anyone of them knew the location of the Sanitarium, it would be unlikely they would know how to find a way there.

"Why were you two even in the woods that time of night?", Jack suddenly asked.

Beth shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Oh. Just some… stupid prank my friends played on Hannah that caused her run out."

Jack raised her eyebrow. "Not really a smart move if you ask me."

Beth glared daggers at him but was unsure if she was intimidating or not. "She was clearly embarassed and it must've… rubbed her the wrong way or something." She groaned. "I don't even know why I'm talking to a complete stranger about this."

"A complete stranger who saved your life." He sounded defensive. "You could at least sound grateful."

Beth looked back at him, offended. "I never said I wasn't." She scoffed and crossed her arms. "You could at least see where I'm coming from.", she grumbled like a stubborn child.

"If you don't trust me then why are you still here?"

She whipped around to face Jack. "You know why. I've said it a dozen times and I'll say it again: I know this a big fucking risk I'm taking, but if means saving my sister then I'll take my chances."

Beth had no idea where this side of her was coming from. At first she thought it was adrenaline and was just saying what was coming to mind, but she wasn't feeling any so she concluded against it. Maybe the last day or so with Jack changed her more than she thought, what with the guns, mines and Wendigos.

But she meant it. If this was what she had to do, then she'd do it.

Jack watched her glare at him for a moment before cracking a grin and chuckling.

"Guess I was wrong about you kid. You've got some spark in you after all."

Suddenly all the tension in her chest subsided. Was he testing her? See how she'd react? If anything, that possibility made her a little more annoyed at him as he chuckled again and went back to his food.

Maybe he had the right idea. She did need that bit of spark in order to pull off what she did the previous night. But if she spent too much time on the mountain, what would happen to her? Would she become like Jack, become sombre in everything she would say, have every shred of humanity sucked out of her?

The mere thought of it terrified Beth more than it should have. She wasn't anything like this man and she wouldn't allow herself to go that far. Not that it would come to it.

With that idea abandoned, she set down her food and stood up. "So what are we doing until nightfall?"

Jack rose to her level. "Well, I'm gonna check on the traps again and then I'll take you through the mines so you can learn the pattern the Wendigo's take during the night."

Beth thought it seemed like enough to keep her occupied until another night of hunting. She picked up her shotgun. "Alright then, lead the way."

Jack nodded and turned and began to walk. Beth followed and then smiled slyly.

"Oh and by the way…"

"What?", Jack replied.

"I named them."

Jack groaned.

* * *

 **You know, if the police swept the whole mountain, why didn't they find the Wendigos in the Sanitarium? Either they knew more than they were letting on or maybe they just couldn't get there. That could make sense since they only checked the mines when the kids told them about them and if the police DID know about the mines, then they would've checked them during the investigation and possibly find Hannah. Well, hopefully the explanation Jack gave for why the police may not find them makes sense for this to work. If it doesn't, just roll with it.**

 **Woo! Apologies for the rant, just had to get that out there. And Beth naming the wolves was too good to pass up! I thought we needed something a little more lighthearted. Anyways, see you guys next time!**

 **XXX**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 ***Long sigh* Why must everything revolve around school and work? Eh, I guess that's just life and you gotta deal with it.**

 **Wow! It's been pretty much a year since I started this fanfic!** **Huh, time flies. Thanks to all you awesome people reading this story, I can't begin to put into words how grateful I am!**

 **Anyways, everything else aside, here's the next chapter for you guys. Also, more (somewhat) lightheartedness because I feel that we need it at this point. Enjoy!**

 **Also, I know nothing about operating bear traps. Just "bear" with me on this one... I'll go sit in the corner now.**

* * *

"I'm just saying, it seems a little impractical.", Beth quipped as she bounced on her heels.

Jack rolled his eyes. "And I'm 'just saying' take a look at all of the Wendigos lined up in their cages. Then tell me the trap is impractical." He pointed to the doorway that led to the corridor which then led to her new living hell.

Beth scrunched up her face and shook her head. "I'd rather not."

Out of all the traps Jack had shown her throughout the Sanitarium, the most grotesque (and in her opinion most unnecessary) one was the bear trap waving a decaying arm back and forth. When she first laid eyes on it, Beth honestly thought that it was some sick joke but seeing as everything so far pointed to the contrary she decided to roll with it. After voicing her concerns, which Jack didn't appreciate.

"Then stop whining and do as I asked you."

Beth scoffed at the statement but a part of her face him the benefit of the doubt. Seeing as Jack seemed to be doing the hunting on his own for some time, he wouldn't instantly be a social person once Beth came around.

She reluctantly walked over to the bear trap and set the shotgun next to the contraption. She eyed the swaying arm at different angles.

"Are you sure it's safe?"

Jack sighed. "Just don't tug on the arm. The trap itself is underneath the table."

Beth nodded and squatted down to look underneath the splintering table. After a moment of focusing her gaze, she could make out the rusting metal contraption holding and swaying the severed arm.

She peeked up over the table at Jack. "If I lose my hand its your fault." And with that, as par Jack's instructions and directions, Beth went to dismantle the trap. Jack would've done it himself but, apparently, Beth still had to 'learn the ropes'.

With trembling fingers, she handled the metal contraption with delicate care, being as careful as she could. She flinched back every few seconds when the the rusty trap squeaked and swayed towards her as she couldn't be too sure if she was actually doing it right and safely.

Pressing a small silver button on the side of the trap, the arm stopped moving all together and was released from the contraption. Beth couldn't help but swallow her vomit again when it dropped to the table with a sickly thud.

She shakily rose to her feet with a hand on her stomach. "There. Happy?" If she wasn't so sick that would've sounded as snarky as she intended it to be.

Jack shook his head. "Not quite. Still gotta fix the thing."

Beth blanched. "Yeah, I'm not doing that on my own."

"Fine. I'll show you."

For the next half hour, Jack showed Beth the basics of operating the bear trap. He explained that prolonged use of the device would mean that it's parts would either become weakened or rusted and would need frequent management. Beth once again flinched away whenever she came close to the trap, paranoid at the possibility that the trap might snap her up at any moment.

However, after a few more pointers and guidance, Beth successfully tightened the screws and joints of the trap, allowing the bait to move more swiftly with less annoying squeaking. She probably would've been proud of her handiwork if it wasn't for the purpose of using a severed arm as Wendigo bait.

Jack took in the notable improvements and nodded in approval. "Not bad for your first time. Looks pretty decent."

Beth gaped at the older man. "Did you just give me a compliment?"

Jack rolled his eyes and grimly chuckled. "I'll admit you do have some skill, kid. But you still have quite a way to go."

"And helping you trap a Wendigo doesn't count?" Beth raised her eyebrows at him questioningly.

"Yeah but that was with my help. Wendigos may follow the same pattern at night, but that doesn't mean they're predictable. One day, you gotta be prepared to think on your feet and maybe catch the Wendigo yourself."

Beth didn't really consider that possibility. She thought that Jack would allow her to tag along on his hunts and treks (safety in numbers and all that), but didn't even exercise the possibility that they might get separated at some point or may even be attacked when in the Sanitarium on her own.

Perhaps it was because she thought that finding Hannah wouldn't take so long, but with the mountain being as large as it was with Wendigos crawling all over the place, it was definitely a concern now. Self-defence with a shotgun was one thing. Capturing a Wendigo on her own would be a whole new skill entirely.

"I guess you do have a point. But let's not go that far just yet.", Beth replied.

"Better to do it sooner rather than later.", Jack retorted.

Beth groaned. "Why do you have to _always_ sound right?"

"Because I've been doing this for year now, as opposed to you being here a few days."

The teen grinned and crossed her arms. "Don't worry. I intend to improve."

* * *

Once the rest of the traps were inspected and maintained, Beth was ready to know the layout of the mines and the regular pattern of the Wendigo's pathways. Jack, however, wasn't too keen just yet. Back at their regular spot by the splintered table and the wolves (Jack still refused to acknowledge their names), he pulled out a small notebook and flipped through a number of pages before pulling out a tattered piece of paper. He unfolded it and placed it onto the table.

Beth examined the document for a moment before looking up at him in disbelief. "How were you able to make _that_ detailed of a plan of the mountain, sanitarium and the mines?"

"Well, living on the mountain and only able to hunt the Wendigos at night, you would have some time on your hands."

Beth hummed in response. "Fair point." She then went back to looking over the plan. Her eyebrows furrowed. "Just how deep do the mines go? And how many… levels are there?"

Jack slid the paper closer to him so he could get a good look at what Beth was referring to. He nodded and pointed at her inquiries. "Well the mines are pretty deep but if you know the layout well it'll only take a few minutes to get to where you want to go. As for the levels, there's an operating elevator shaft here… and here." He pointed at two markings at both of the map, gesturing to clearly show the real distance between them. "They can take up both up and down to different areas of the mines, which makes for even more ground to cover."

"Huh. That sounds pleasant."

Jack turned to get a good look out of the window and rolled up his coat sleeve to look at a watch she didn't even noticed he had. "Okay, we've still got a good few hours before _they_ come out again. Make sure you get a good look at the map and the rest of the book for that matter. I'm gonna go take stock of some of our supplies. Ask me about anything you're not sure about before we move out."

"Alright." Beth picked up the book and sat down, reading it with newfound interest.

Jack walked over to one of the wolves and petted him on the head to get his attention. "Come on, boy." The wolf stood up and began to follow after him.

Beth looked up from the book and frowned. "His name's Winter."

"Ugh. No, it's not." Beth couldn't hold back the smug grin as Jack left the room.

Jack groaned again once he was out of her line of sight. This girl was _really_ starting to test his patience. Why was she treating this like it was a game? Well, her being a teenager and all should've prepared him for that but he expected that the minute he mentioned the words 'curse' and 'Wendigos' should've been a red flag for her to cut it out and start to take it seriously. He'll admit, he was impressed by the skill and resolve she showed on her first few days but that would only get her so far. If she wanted to find her sister, she'd have to be more tactful in her actions.

Oh, who was he kidding? Her sister was probably already dead at this point. No one, without knowing what dwelled in the mountains, would be able to face a Wendigo and survive. But Beth seemed pretty insistent that she was out there somewhere and disagreeing with her would make her more determined to prove him wrong and give him more of a headache than before. Jack couldn't tell how long she'd have that mentality for but in the long run, it would do her more harm than good. In his years of experience, he learned that you'd have to accept harsh reality of the Blackwood mountains and throw away the rose-coloured glasses the teen was definitely wearing.

After a moment of contemplation, Jack, against his better judgement, decided to humour her for the time being. Besides, it would only be a matter of time before Beth realised she was chasing a lost cause.

 _Right?_

* * *

 **The more I write this story, the sadder I get that Beth had to die at the beginning of the game since you didn't really get to know her in comparison to everyone else. Anyways, I really enjoy writing her and my own twists to her character (would love to know if it's working).**

 **So Beth and Jack haven't gone into the mines before nightfall yet, but once again the chapter became longer than anticipated. So no exploration until next time. Also, in regards to the whole 'year later cut', I'm thinking about doing that about halfway through the story. However, seeing how I'm not so sure how long the Beth and Jack journey will go, it's hard to say when the story of the game will be (just a heads up).**

 **Bye for now!**

 **XXX**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **Okay, bit of a brief rundown: I have a somewhat vague outline of what the next few chapters are going to be about so the jump to the main game should be after several more chapters, although this could change depending on how long they get. Thanks for being so patient!**

 **Alright, here's chapter 10!**

* * *

A long overdue sigh escaped from Beth as she flipped the journal shut. She didn't think that Jack's information about Wendigos and the mountain would've taken long to read, but she found herself having to mull over a few details several times and even had to call out to Jack a few times to explain a certain point in more detail. A couple of times the only response she got were the cries of the Wendigos. From there, she decided to shut up and wait until he was done with whatever he was doing. She blew a few stray strands of hair out of her face as she leaned back in the chair so that it was balancing on two legs.

Beth had spent a good thirty minutes reading through the notebook and she didn't expect the Wendigos' history to have so much depth. She had read something about these mysterious rituals that could keep the monsters at bay but didn't go into much detail about how they worked. She made a mental note to ask Jack about it when she got the chance. There was something about Wendigos being able to mimic other people but the concept of it disturbed Beth to a point where she couldn't even continue and frantically flipped to the next page.

Once Jack had returned from checking if everything was in order, he readily cleared up Beth's queries and misconceptions. He explained it as if he was reading off of a script but then again, Beth thought, that was how most of his explanations came off as.

With nightfall a mere few hours away, Jack had to cut the history lesson short and the two of them readied themselves to enter the mines once more.

"I don't think I'm ever gonna get used to this.", Beth groaned as they descended into the mines via another entrance located on the map.

"Well, this sort of thing does take a while. Doesn't exactly happen overnight.", Jack replied.

"Eh, fair point."

Jack pulled out his detailed map once again and examined it closely for a few moments before gesturing for Beth to follow him. Based on what she saw on the map a while ago, he was most likely taking her to an area where they would either proceed to a higher or lower level of the mines. They ventured down a rocky hill before dropping down a small ledge.

"Just through here.", Jack said after a while, indicating that they were almost there.

After a few more minutes of walking and Jack explaining more about the history of the mines and Wendigos, the man stopped in front of a rusty elevator shaft. Jack pointed up to the higher level. "That will lead to a path that can lead you straight back to the Sanitarium." He stepped towards the contraption. "The lower level is a bit of a smaller area compared to the rest of mines but can also lead back out to the mountains."

"Okay.", Beth breathed out. "Let's get going then."

She stepped forwards to stand on the elevator before Jack held up a hand to stop her. "No. First, I'm gonna head down and then you follow me."

Beth's eyes widened. "You're just gonna leave me here!?"

Jack rolled his eyes. "The elevator even struggles to work with the weight of one person. I dread to see what happens when two try to stand on it at once."

"Have you ever thought of maintenance?" The Question could've been sarcastic, but Beth was genuinely asking.

The older man sighed. "At some point, yeah."

He stepped onto the elevator shaft and made to pull the lever. "Wait!", Beth exclaimed.

Jack was taken back by her sudden outburst. "What is it?"

Beth fidgeted for a moment. "Well, since we're technically gonna be separated for a minute… and since Wendigos can mimic other people…" She paused for a moment, as if expecting Jack to catch onto what she was suggesting. "We should have, I don't know, maybe a secret code so that if we're separated and we hear the word, we'll know if it's actually us."

Jack gaped. He didn't know what to say in response to the teen. Out loud, the idea sounded insane, but the use of a code could probably help them in the long run since there were now two people hunting Wendigos on the mountain.

He paused for a moment longer. "You're being serious, aren't you?"

Beth rocked back on her heels. "You know I'm right.", she replied in a singsong voice.

At that, Jack grumbled. "Fine. What did you have in mind?", he said, deciding to humour her.

"Snowball." Beth officially agreed with herself: she was terrible at coming up with both wolf names and code words.

Refusing to dignify that with a response, Jack pulled the lever and the elevator creaked several times before a whirring sound was heard and the older man disappeared from Beth's line of sight as descended further into the mines. The elevator creaked and clanked several times down but Jack reassured Beth that he was okay.

Once he had reached the bottom, Jack had called out to Beth that he was sending the elevator up for her so that she could come down next, his gravely voice echoing off the decaying walls.

Beth responded with a harsh whisper. "Say the word."

She could hear Jack let out an exasperated sigh. Was she still going at it? "You can't be serious."

The teen lifted her gun. "If you don't say it, I'm gonna have to assume that you're a Wendigo.", she responded half-jokily, but was a little on edge on the off chance that it might be a possibility at some point.

Jack sighed again. "Fine. Snowball."

"See. Not that hard to say."

Jack didn't respond and instead pulled the lever again and the elevator ascended back up to Beth's level. After a moment of hesitation, Beth stepped out onto the platform and went to meet Jack at the bottom. An almost guttural groan came from the lift and Beth flinched slightly, scrunching her eyes shut, as if expecting it to crash down at any moment. However, such a moment never came and, after a few more moments of it stopping on the way down, she was finally able to step off the death trap.

"Its official. That thing needs maintenance."

Jack ignored her little quip. "Let's just keep moving. Won't be long until nightfall." He resumed his walking with Beth at his heels before rolling his eyes in contemplation and looked at the teen from over his shoulder. "That was actually a pretty good idea… with the whole "code word" thing. Didn't even consider it."

Beth gave an exaggerated gasp. "You're giving me compliments?" Jack rolled his eyes again but Beth could see a faint smirk as he turned back around.

She gained her pace to catch up with him. "We should probably have a new one every night. Just in case a Wendigo hears us."

"Don't think I'll get used to that."

Beth laughed to herself before responding. "Doesn't exactly happen overnight."

* * *

Once the duo had descended further into the mines, Jack had taken out the map to point out the routes that led to other areas of the mines, including one that would lead straight back to the mountains and the lodge. They had covered quite a bit of ground that day and Jack was able to fill her in on the numerous numbers of possible paths the Wendigos could take. As they were walking, he continued to give her some helpful pointers.

"If a Wendigo does see you, standing still may not the sensible solution in some cases."

"So what would I have to do?", Beth replied, trying to retain all of this information.

"Create a good distance from yourself and the Wendigo and get out of its sight. If you do, you'll have a better chance of hiding and an even better chance of the Wendigo leaving you alone." When Beth didn't give a response as she was taking it all in, Jack added, "It all depends on the situation."

Another short pause before Beth answered. "So I just have to think on my feet every single time?"

"Bingo.", he answered. "That's another thing when it comes to hunting a Wendigo; they may stick to some patterns, like the one we're going down now, but you have to be prepared to come across one at any time."

Beth looked down at Jack's map, taking in the route they were currently going down. "So if the Wendigos usually go down this path-", she pointed to one route on the map and then pointed to a couple others in that area, "-then they could surprise us and go down these ones."

"Exactly.", Jack responded. "You're catching one pretty well."

"Well, it's not that hard to get."

Jack's face hardened into seriousness. "You say that, but when you have to catch another Wendigo-", he gestured to her bandaged arm, "-you wouldn't want a repeat of last time."

Beth looked down at her injury and grimaced. It was true. She was careless the first time; she had let her guard down easily and was so close to the Wendigo as well. Internally, she argued that the adrenaline was catching up with her and she wasn't thinking clearly, but she knew fully well that that was no excuse and she couldn't afford to be so absentminded. But given that a lot was changing in her life within just a matter of hours (turning into days), it was somewhat understandable.

 _You can't help your sister if you're dead._

"Y-you're right.", she said. "I'll be careful next time."

Jack shook his head and took a step towards her. "Just 'careful' won't cut it. You've gotta stay sharp and alert at all times, 'cause next time, the Wendigo might get something a little more serious than your arm."

Beth swallowed thickly and didn't respond, because she knew that Jack wasn't just implying a serious injury. She looked down at her feet and instinctively curled her fingers tightly around the shotgun. "Right."

Jack nodded and gestured for Beth to following back down the path and to the lift as if was only a matter of time before nightfall came and they needed a moment of clarity to plan what they would do that night, especially with the possibility of police officers crawling around the mountain.

Just as Beth was about to follow Jack back to the elevator, a shrill shriek caused her whip around to find the source of the noise. All coherent thoughts were thrown out of the window when she heard the scream. A scream she wished she'd never have to hear.

" _Hannah?!_ "

* * *

 **Best place to put a cliffhanger, am I right?**

 **Thanks for reading! See you all next time!**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **I apologise for that cliffhanger last chapter, but an opportunity was staring at me right in the face and just _had_ to take it.**

 **Once again, HUGE thank you to all your lovely comments, really means a lot that a lot of people are enjoying this.**

 **In response to the Guest reviewer, I have no plans to do another Until Dawn/AU fanfic after this story but it all depends on whether inspiration hits (also since I already have 2 other ongoing fanfics and considering planning another).**

 **With that out of the way, moment of truth people!**

* * *

" _Hannah_?!"

This was it. This was exactly what she feared would happen. What she promised wouldn't happen. All common sense that she had at this point was thrown out the window as her wired mind was now fixated one thing and one thing alone. Her sister. In response, Beth could hear the same screams coming from the other end of the mines. They were now calling out for the Beth to help and that was all the teen needed to take action.

As if Jack could sense what Beth was about to do, he reached out to grab her arm. "Kid, don't you even think about it.", he commanded through clenched teeth. _Hadn't she learnt_ anything _?_

Beth frantically jerked away from his grip and started sprinting down. "Hannah?!"

She heard Jack swear under his breath and the sound of his footsteps chasing after her. "Kid, stop!" But Beth didn't stop, if anything she picked up her pace and ignited the older man's protests. "BETH, STOP!" But his pleas continued to fall on deaf ears.

How could she stop? She had held onto every single scrap of hope that her sister was still out there, wandering aimlessly in the mines hoping to run into her sister, like she was doing now. Even though all of the evidence and facts about Wendigos contributed to the possibility of her most likely being dead, Beth still wasn't convinced. She couldn't be convinced. She wasn't about to just give up on her sister, because a part of her knew that, if it was the other way around, Hannah would've done the same for her.

That's why she ran. That's why she completely ignored Jack's words of wisdom despite the rational part of her mind telling her to listen.

And that's why her heart shattered to pieces when she turned a corner and came face to face with a Wendigo.

* * *

In that moment, Jack came to a definitive conclusion: this kid was hopeless.

He had just spent the last couple of days teaching Beth how to survive on the mountain and the secrets of the curse and the Wendigos. One of which included Wendigos can mimic their prey. He had even went into gratuitous detail explaining what to and what not to do if that were to arise and what did Beth do? Run towards the unknown voice. Even if there were even the slightest probability that it was actually her sister, Beth should've thought back to what she learnt and assessed the situation to make the best possible decision.

Again, this kid was hopeless.

If Jack was being completely honest, when Beth ripped out of his iron grip, his gut instinct was to turn and run back to the Sanitarium. Come on, if the kid was being this reckless, why should he stick his neck out for her? She had been causing him nothing but trouble since they joined up.

But no, he didn't run away. Instead, he ran after her. If he just let her run towards the noise, he may as well have thrown her to the Wendigo himself? Even though he was a monster hunter, shoving down all emotions to get the job done, he was still human and he wasn't going to let a child die because of his stubborn nature.

 _You_ so _owe me, kid._

When he saw that Beth was trying to outrun him, Jack doubled up his pacing, seeing how she was already very agile for someone her age. He began to speak in a forced whisper. "Beth, will you just listen and don't move-" If Beth actually heard him, then she was doing a great job at not listening to him. Jack sighed to himself and just focused on trying to catch up, the weight of the flamethrower already slowing him down.

When Beth stopped at the corner, he was already fearing the worst, as he could see the looks of horror and sorrow playing across her face.

 _Well, fantastic._

He could already hear her rapid breath, whether that was from the fear or just catching her breath was beyond him at this point. Her fingers was twitching as she weakly gripped the shotgun and her jerky movements caused her to stumble back every now and again.

If there was anything hopeful to take away from the current situation, it was that even if Beth was frozen by fear, at least she was still. If she had freaked out like Jack thought she would, the Wendigo would've definitely seen her and rip her to shreds. Instead, the creature was still scanning its surroundings as if waiting for its prey to slip up. Every now and again, the Wendigo would turn its gaze away from the duo, listening out for other potential noises, giving Jack the chance to edge his way to the teen's side.

Taking one had off his flamethrower, he snatched the teen's arm, earning a startled squeak from her. "Quiet.", he snapped. He was really losing his patience with her. "Next time the Wendigo turns away, start backing up." He removed his grip from Beth, not even bothering waiting for some kind of response.

Beth weakly nodded, still trying to numb the shock that overwhelmed her and turned her attention back to the Wendigo. Now wasn't the time to lose it. First, escape certain death and then she could have a freak out.

The Wendigo's head twitched to the side and then snapped towards another direction. Jack gave Beth a slight (but still forceful) nudge as if she didn't know this was her chance to the make a move. Carefully watching her footing, she began to edge away step by step. When the Wendigo was on the verge of having its line of vision directed towards the duo, Beth quickly stilled with a short breath.

The creature was staring directly at her but didn't seem to register that she was right there. Beth felt the bike turn in her stomach; everything was catching up with her and it was becoming more than she could handle. The Wendigo then turned its attention to where Jack was standing but the older man didn't waver. It was as if he was in a staring contest with the thing. Once it ceased its scan of the area, the Wendigo shrieked in frustration (and took all of Beth's resolve to not run away screaming) and poised itself to start moving away.

Jack and Beth both quietly heaved a sigh of release and the man motioned for the teen to start moving away. Beth was more than eager to make her escape, but that cost her dearly as a stray pebble crunched under her booth.

Causing the Wendigo to look straight at them. Staying still wouldn't help them now. Its suspicions were confirmed: someone was here.

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me.", Jack seethed under his breath. This kid was really going to make him lose it. Wasting no time, he roughly shoved Beth back and readied his flamethrower.

Beth knew the drill: getting running. A barrage of flames flew from his weapon as Beth began to sprint away back towards the elevator. The Wendigo was temporarily driven back and started to catch up with Beth. Even though it would be hard for the elevator to support both of them, they would have no chance if they attempted to wait and use separately. Jack looked back every now and again to see where the Wendigo was but just as they reached the shaft, it was nowhere to be seen.

But Jack didn't let it waver him. Instead, he motioned for Beth to move aside and he roughly pulled the lever to take them back up towards the mountain. As they ascended, Beth clasped a hand over her mouth, stifling a sob. "I am so sor-"

"Save it.", Jack snapped. When Beth opened her mouth to continue, he cut her off again. "Do you really think this is the time for this?" His voice was a harsh whisper and his tone was enough to silence Beth.

Once the elevator was back up to the original level, they stepped out only to the Wendigo waiting for them, primal hunger painted all over its inhuman face. Before Jack could even raise his flamethrower, Beth thrust herself forward and shot the Wendigo square in the chest, letting frustrated cry. With the Wendigo stunned, Jack snapped her out of her reverie by snagging her wrist and pulling her past the creature. However, Beth ripped her arm back and turned around to shoot the Wendigo again.

Jack could understand what she was doing, but this wasn't the time to mess around. "Come. On." He didn't even bother to wait for a respond and instead went on ahead, letting Beth catch up on her own.

There were a lot of things they were going to discuss once this night was done.

* * *

Given what she had gotten herself into, Beth was not happy about running from a Wendigo back to the Sanitarium two nights in a row. She knew, deep down, that she was asking for a lot, but was not in the mood to think logically at this point. Still, she maintained the resolve to keep an eye out for the Wendigo and pulled the trigger whenever it came into view. Before she could shoot out of frustration again, Jack roughly pushed her forward in order to regain their distance from the creature. In any other circumstance, she would complain, but the fury she glimpsed in his eyes told her that she was not getting off easy.

With no hope of escaping the Wendigo, Jack decided that they would have to cage it. When they had reached the entrance, he had told Beth to once again stay behind to lure the Wendigo, she couldn't help but hear a hint of animosity in his words. Sighing to herself, she readied her aim to the entrance. Not a moment later, the Wendigo scrambled through the doorway and Beth didn't even have to yell out to get its attention.

It was already dead set on her. Its soulless gaze pierced through her and as the adrenaline once again wore, off Beth found that she no longer had the aggressive frustration. Instead she stumbled away to where Jack was, like a frightened child. The situation was now catching up to her and her heart was pounding hard, a dull ringing in her ears. She didn't even register the captive Wendigos that were, again, trying to snag her foot, but Beth swiftly ripped her foot away.

She was standing beside Jack shakily raising her gun to the now approaching Wendigo. It bared its teeth at them and didn't hesitate jumping at them. Jack released another wave of flames that drove the creature into the cage. As Jack went to close the cage, the Wendigo was about to scramble back to its feet. Just as it was about to ready itself to pounce, Beth quickly raised the gun to shoot it one more time, giving Jack the time to shut the gate and secure it tightly.

With that done, Beth remembered correctly to not stand close to the cage, lest she'd want a repeat of what happened. Jack remained silent and made his way back down the corridor, effortlessly dodging the Wendigos' fruitless attacks. Beth followed suit, albeit a little on edge.

Once they were out of the way, Jack pulled out his notebook and flipped to a page that had a bunch of crossed out numbers written down. He took out a pen and crossed out the number 'five' and replaced it with 'four'.

 _There's still_ four _to go?!_

When Jack put away the book back in his bag, he waited for a short moment before turning to Beth.

Giving the most terrifying death glare she had ever seen.

* * *

 **Jack: Don't do it.**

 **Beth: *does it.***

 **So, I think it's safe to say that Beth is in trouble.**

 **See you next time!**


	12. Chapter 12

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **Thanks for all of the comments last chapter! This little plot point was definitely an interesting one to write and now we've got the confrontation in this chapter, hope you guys like it!**

 **Also, since the summer's here, I can hopefully have more time to write up other chapters, but I can't make any promises.**

* * *

 _Jack or the Wendigos… which one seems like the safest option right now?_

Beth was seriously considering the question as she watched the emotions play out across the man's face. In hindsight, she could've handled what just transpired a little bit better but she wasn't thinking clearly at the time.

Based on the look on Jack's face, it seemed like that excuse wasn't going to work on him.

"Um…" Beth struggled how to approach the situation. "Great… job?" Her voice was filled with uncertainty.

Jack only continued to stare down Beth and the girl began to exercised the possibility that he didn't hear her. Until he took a step forward. "You wanna tell me what exactly happened back there?" His voice snapped at her, it was a low and quiet but Beth could sense the bitterness behind it.

After a moment of silence, Beth settled with sighing and shaking her head. "I'm sorry." She lowered her gaze to avoid eye contact. "I wasn't thinking. I just thought…"

"Yeah, you weren't thinking.", Jack snapped at her. "Not only did your mistake put yourself in danger, you could've gotten me killed as well!" He stepped towards Beth, who slowly backed away in fear. "Haven't you learned anything? I thought you would take even the smallest ounce of caution in the mines!"

"What did you expect me to do?", Beth raised her voice, actually throwing the old man off guard temporarily. "I have told you time and time again that I'm here for my sister! If there was even the slightest chance that…", she trailed off for a moment, remembering the terror and sorrow in her heart when she thought that she had found her sister only for it to be ripped out from underneath her. "…that if might've been her, I would've taken it anyway."

Jack balled up his fists. "That doesn't change the fact that it was a stupid decision! If you had listened to me and thought back to what we talked about, we could've worked out a plan and safely handle the situation."

Beth rolled her eyes, tired of how Jack was treating her. "Oh, like you're so perfect! Don't tell me you didn't make a few mistakes when starting out!"

The old man opened his mouth to respond but quickly closed it and turned his head to the side. He didn't want to admit it; he wasn't exactly the best when it came to Wendigos when he first started out. He only had what he got from his grandfather to go on and on his first few nights he had to rely on him to get him out of any situations that went south. It had taken him several months to get a grip on the basic techniques of hunting.

Another thing he didn't want to admit was that, in his early hunting days, he was almost fooled by the Wendigo's mimicking on more than one occasion. So, yeah, maybe he was being a _little_ hypocritical.

"Maybe not.", Jack grunted. "But you need to learn that, when hunting Wendigos, you can't afford to let your emotions drive your actions. They know and take advantage of that and that's why you need to approach every situation with a rational mind." He looked at her with a disgusted look. "Guess that was too hard for you." He seemed quite confident in what he was saying despite Beth having a shotgun in her hands.

Although, Beth wouldn't put it past Jack to burn her to a crisp if she said the wrong thing to make him mad.

"I have put up with your stupidity for days now, but _this_ is where I draw the line. The sooner you accept that there's no saving your sister, the better chance at both of us living.", he continued.

The terror that blossomed in Beth's chest was twisted further into her heart. She had held onto the hope that Hannah was okay for the last few days, always pushing her feelings aside whenever opposing thoughts caused her to doubt. But hearing 'Hannah's' screams and seeing the Wendigo was close to becoming the nail on the coffin. Beth was almost tempted to call it quits, throw down the gun and ditch the mountain.

But the last thing she had told Hannah was that she'd promised she'd be back for her if she was in trouble. What kind of sister would she be if she broke that promise?

Besides, Beth told herself that, if she couldn't find Hannah in one area, she could always be somewhere else. For all she knew, she was aimlessly wandering the mines hoping to bump into Beth.

(She elegantly disregarded Hannah's broken leg.)

With hardened resolve, she looked up at Jack with an underlying fire in her eyes. "Until I find proper evidence that she's not alive, I'm not gonna stop looking for Hannah." Her voice was low and determined just like how Jack's was minutes ago. He scoffed, frustrated that he wasn't getting anywhere with her. "Like I said at the beginning, if there's a chance that she's alive and I abandon her, I could never live with myself." Her eyes softened for a moment. "And I know you're not one to leave someone to slaughter. When you found me, you could've escaped and caught the Wendigo but you killed it, something you said never to do, to save me."

Jack's face was unreadable. If his expression faltered at Beth's words, even for a millisecond, she didn't catch it. Despite his pessimistic attitude towards those left in the presence of a Wendigo, deep down he wouldn't want to anyone to suffer that gruesome end.

Because he had seen it firsthand. He had mentioned to Beth about his grandfather hunting the Makkapitew but never about him dying at the claws of it and how he had killed it to avenge his family and the presumed dead siblings. At that moment, he didn't care about rule _don't kill the Wendigo_ , he didn't want anyone else to perish because of that monster. That's what motivated him to fully take on his grandfather's role. He worked to protect the mountain and its inhabitants from the curse and the least he could've done was to continue his work.

He couldn't let his grandfather's work be for nothing.

Even though he saw the girls plummet over the edge of the cliff, he couldn't help the feeling of guilt for not being able to reach them in time. For the next hour or so, his feet carried himself down into the mines to check for the girls. When he saw at least one of them alive, he called that a victory.

'Until I find proper evidence that she's not alive, I'm not gonna stop looking for Hannah.', Beth had said.

When they fell off the cliff, he was sure they were both dead but for some reason he couldn't end the night not knowing whether or not they survived. He was sure they were dead but still wanted to look for them.

Okay, maybe he was being more than a _little_ hypocritical.

Why would he deny her the opportunity to look for her sister when he didn't want to stop looking until he got confirmation that they were dead?

Maybe… he was being too hard on her? Still, there was a limit and she was dangerously close to crossing it.

"Besides…" Beth's speech wasn't over. "Something tells me you don't want the police crawling around here. Without knowing what's out here, they wouldn't stand a chance. If I go to them, I don't think I can leave this out."

And that's what got Jack's attention. Deep down the last he wanted was reporters and officers infesting the mountain. That would be like bringing a buffet straight to the Wendigos and that would just further complicate the situation.

"I know you wouldn't say it, but it would be in your best interest to keep the Wendigos a secret and as long as I'm here looking for my sister away from everyone else, it would stay that way."

He had to admit, she was getting good. Before he could retort to anything she said, Beth already even more arguments to back him into a corner. This was the most resilience she had shown in the time she had been here ( _if only she put that much dedication into her hunting._ , he snidely thought) and a part of him thought that the surrounding environment and circumstances had a role in that.

Jack definitely didn't want to keep Beth here against her will, but if she was so desperate to look for her sister and that would keep other people away from the mountain, he had no objections.

"You're either gonna end up disappointed or dead, Beth.", he finally replied, his voice giving away partial surrender. "Just keep that in mind."

He looked up to see her eyes glistening with tears that he was sure weren't there before. "Believe me, I am fully aware."

And with that, she strutted off from his sight, up the stairs and back to her tattered mattress. She had a long night and she was just plain done with the day at this point. Jack was mildly surprised to see Wolfie trotting up the stairs right behind her. He then looked down to see Winter standing at his side, snarling angrily at him.

He didn't know what made him more mad: the fact that Beth had made his wolves annoyed at him or the fact that he was now calling them by those stupid names.

 _You are really one piece of work, kid._

* * *

Several hours later, Jack scaled up the stairs that led to Beth's makeshift room with a can of food in one hand. Both of them hadn't eaten for a while and he doubted that the teen would want to be coming back downstairs any time soon. Either he brought the food up or she would probably starve to death.

 _Saving your life again._ , he sarcastically thought.

He stopped at the doorway to see Beth lying down on the mattress with one hand petting Wolfie, who was curled up by her side. The wolf ears perked up at the sound of a new arrival and sat up, growling softly. Beth noticed the wolf's change in position and looked up to meet Jack's eyes.

The older man walked over and wordlessly placed the can of food by the foot of her bed. Beth shrugged towards the can. "What's this? A peace offering?"

Jack smirked. "No. You may not be my favourite person right now, but that's no excuse to let you starved."

Beth sighed. "Thanks." She picked up her food and began to unceremoniously shove the food into her mouth, not caring that Jack was still in front of her.

After several moments, Jack cleared his throat, getting Beth's attention. "Listen… I may have been a little harsh on you back there."

Beth scoffed. "A little?"

Jack wasn't fazed by her comment. "But it's what I felt had to be said. If you keep holding onto this false hope that your sister is just wandering through the mines without any protection and hasn't had a run in with a Wendigo, it's only gonna crush you in the end."

"But-"

"And what if you find her body, if there's anything left of it? How're gonna feel when you find that it was all for nothing?" Jack didn't want to tell a teenager the brutal truth of the fate her sister had probably already suffered at, but he needed to know if she was ready to accept the consequences of her actions.

Tears were already running violently down Beth's cheeks as Jack relayed his speech towards her. It was almost the same as the one he told her hours ago. He seemed to be dead set on beating his argument into her head. But her resolve didn't change. Deep inside, Beth knew that she was probably chasing a lost cause that was only going to cause her pain and disappointment in the end. She wanted nothing more than to protect her sister from the terrors this new reality that was opened up to them. Against all odds, Beth had taken up a gun and resolved to fighting against creatures created by a curse and no point did she seriously consider dropping everything and running away.

What would everyone think of her if she had the chance to save her sister but didn't? A coward, probably. But she wasn't a coward, she wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't stop until she got confirmation about her sister's fate. If she kept going, she would either find her family or some form of closure.

"Even she is…", she swallowed thickly. "Dead… this still wouldn't have been for nothing." Jack raised an eyebrow. "Not to me, anyways."

He watched her, before huffing. "Suit yourself. I'll let you continue… whatever this is, but make sure it doesn't get either of us killed."

Beth smirked solemnly. "You got it."

Jack nodded, satisfied that they came to an agreement before beckoning the wolf to follow him. "Come on, Wolfie."

Beth's head shot up, a smiling a surprised smile that went up to her eyes. "You're using their names?!"

Jack shrugged. "What can I say? They're growing on me."

* * *

 **Okay, so Jack was being a jerk but at the same time… not? In this chapter, I wanted to get a little into Jack's head and the way he thinks and have him develop a more considerate and softer side and also show Beth gaining more confidence by standing up to him (Character development for everyone!). Hope this all came across well!**

 **Also, since we don't know that much about Jack and his grandfather and what they did, I decided to create my own little backstory for them (Oh, the joys of fanfiction).**

 **We've probably got at least 3-4 chapters to go until the whole 'one year later' skip but this can be subject to change depending on how things go.**

 **Think that's it for now, see you next chapter!**


	13. Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

 **Alright, so this chapter got longer than usual but because I don't want to drag this out and wanted to get closer to the time skip, I'm gonna roll with this. But hey, longer chapter for you guys!**

 **Sort of important news: this year is probably going to be busy, school wise. So if there ever comes a point where an update may take too long, it may be because of that. But I will try to keep this going as consistently as possible.**

* * *

A couple of days had passed since Jack and Beth's argument and resolution. That night, Beth admitted that she made a mistake and Jack (eventually) saw where she was coming from and decided to give her the benefit of the doubt. They still spent the day after sitting in awkward silence as they did another sweep of the Sanitarium, but the two of them saw it as slowly but surely building their trust back up.

Jack was too proud to admit it but the past few days after Beth teamed up with him, he had a growing respect for the teen especially seeing how she handled the Wendigo the first time around. Granted, their most recent capture didn't go exactly as planned but she seemed to trap it well given the circumstances. His argument with her seemed to cause him to recognise her resolve. He didn't think that she would have the guts to defy him but proving him wrong was something Beth seemed to enjoy. Immensely.

During those couple of days, Beth smugly made fun of Jack whenever he called the wolves by their new names. Yes, he liked them and yes, he thought they were kind of cute, but that didn't mean that Beth could tease him whenever he used the names.

Nevertheless, the two of them agreed that since Jack was out to capture the Wendigos and Beth was searching for any trace of Hannah, they decided to do their own thing and keep to themselves. As long as the Wendigos were captured and kept away from other people, Jack wasn't complaining.

He had actually taken Beth's earlier advice and agreed to try to do some maintenance on the faulty elevator shaft. It would've been risky to do it both in the day and after sundown, but if they knew what they were doing and were quick about it, they could make it less of an accident waiting to happen. Fixing a lift from way back in the day wasn't the easiest endeavour in the world, but compared to her new… lifestyle, Beth was pretty content to help out.

During one sweep of the mountain one early morning, the duo came across something that both of them dreaded to see. Beth tugged her jacket tighter around herself, unsure whether it was due to her shock or the chill from the falling snow.

Police tape.

"Well. That's problematic.", Beth stated in a deadpanned voice.

Based on the look on Jack's face, he wasn't going to laugh at Beth's sarcasm at any point. With no hesitation, he grabbed her arm and the two of them ended up sprinting back to the Sanitarium before anyone could possibly catch them. "In some shape or form, this is your fault."

Neither of them had it in them to start another shouting match.

* * *

"So what's the plan for tonight?", Beth asked as Jack was pacing back and forth in front of her. She was sitting in a chair, petting one of the wolves. Deep down, she was terrified about the prospect of the authorities crawling around the mountain. On the one hand, she didn't want the police to get in the way of her search for Hannah but also if they found her, it would lead to an explanation that she didn't want to give.

She had actually considered approaching the police with the truth and continue the search for Hannah in the mines, where they should actually be looking. Except there were a few things wrong with that plan:

One, the police wouldn't know the first thing about handling the situation of the Wendigos and would probably get themselves killed, which would just further complicate things.

Two, there would be concerns about how Jack would fit into everything. There would most definitely be questions about his involvement and would probably not allow him or Beth anywhere the searches. Which kind of defeated the whole purpose of her being there in the first place.

Three, she and Jack had agreed that if he was able to capture the Wendigos his own way, he would let her search for Hannah. Even considering letting the police into what was going on would throw everything out of proportion.

So, yeah, letting the police find Beth or discover what was going on wasn't in their best interests.

Jack ceased his pacing and sighed. "It can't be just for tonight. You know, they're gonna sweep the place until they find one of you girls." He didn't miss Beth wince slightly. "It's definitely gonna be hard to capture another Wendigo with the police so we just gotta make sure neither of them finds the other."

"And how are we gonna do that?", Beth asked incredulously, standing up from her chair.

"The rituals.", Jack replied like it was the most obvious answer. Beth stared at him, unable to gauge what he meant by that. "By the Shamans." Still nothing. "Come on, I wrote it in the journal."

All of a sudden, realisation came flooding back to Beth. She had recalled reading something about that in the notebook before the 'incident' but forgot to ask him a bit it. "Oh, yeah, what's up with those?"

Jack sighed, pulling out his journal again. "I swear, you make me lose my patience on purpose." He cleared his throat. "The artefacts, totems and feathers that help keep the Wendigos at bay. They don't get rid of them but, when used correctly, they should keep them away from the police."

"And us.", Beth added.

"Yes, and us.", Jack repeated, trying to get the conversation back on track. "If we have them ready by nightfall, we can use them or divert them away from other people."

"And back into the mines?"

"In a perfect world. That job will be up to us."

Beth nodded. "Which brings us to another matter entirely: our weapons. How are we gonna use them without drawing attention to ourselves?"

"Well, as long as we're a good distance from the police, the flamethrower shouldn't be a problem, but the shotgun…"

Beth glared at him. "Yeah, I get it." She sighed. "But it's not like I can just stop using it. I might need it if we come across a Wendigo."

Jack shrugged. "Unless you have a silencer or something to at least make the shotgun more useable in this circumstance, you've got a problem."

After a moment of contemplation, Beth winced. Jack gave her a concerned look that asked her to explain. "The good news is I do have a silencer."

Jack groaned; he knew where this was going. "The bad news?"

"Its in the lodge."

"Why would your parents have a silencer in the lodge?", Jack asked, annoyed.

"My dad likes to use the shooting range outside of the lodge and keeps a silencer in case sound becomes too much of an 'issue'.", Beth replied. She had never used the shooting range whenever they visited the lodge but she had seen her dad and sometimes Josh using it. Beth looked slightly confused when Jack looked to the ground, looking as if he were in thought. "What?"

"Near the end of the Sanitarium is a tunnel leading to the lodge basement.", he replied bluntly.

Beth gaped at him. "What?!"

Jack threw up his hands in self-defence. "I never _entered_ the lodge. Just needed to know where the tunnel led to to add it to the map."

She rolled her eyes. How many more things was she going to find out about this place? "Then getting in shouldn't be a problem then?"

The older man held up a finger. "Not exactly. The ladder's busted and climbing down a tall rock wall is pain, let alone climbing up."

Beth let out an exasperated groan, running her hands through her hair. "So we're back to square one!"

"So you can see how getting it will be a problem.", the old man replied with a knowing look on his face.

Beth's face took on an expression of determination. "Not really. I can get it myself."

Jack looked at her as if she were crazy and let out an exasperated laugh. "Again, there might a slight problem with, I don't know, the police all over the area."

Beth sighed and shook her head. "Look, nightfall is getting close and we've established that getting rid of the shotgun isn't a good option so this might be our only choice."

Jack had to admit, the girl was being more pragmatic than he gave her credit for. It was a risky suggestion but unless they could find Beth a new weapon that was just as effective, getting this silencer was the only option they had. "And how exactly are you planning to sneak in undetected?"

* * *

Out of all of the plans Beth could've come up with, this one was up there in the 'stupid' category. Jack had argued 'get inside the lodge, grab the silencer and get out without the police finding you out at any point' didn't count as a well thought out plan. Beth then rebutted again that nightfall wasn't far away and if he wanted her to help then adjusting her weaponry was the best option.

When Jack asked her to consider her plan better, she thought about sneaking in through the back of the lodge, sneak up the stairs, slip into her parent's, find the silencer and, finally, make a run for it. All without the police catching her. After Beth relayed the plan to Jack, he still didn't look convinced. "It's probably simpler than it sounds.", she mumbled.

"Humph", he huffed. "Sure."

Beth rolled her eyes. "And while I'm handling that, you use those rituals to keep the Wendigos away from the police."

Jack paused. "That plan… might actually work."

Beth beamed. "See? I can be smart."

"That's still debatable."

* * *

Once nightfall came again, Beth and Jack went about to set their- _Beth's_ -plan in motion. The two of them went their separate ways to carry out their end of things, although Beth was slightly unsure why Jack was bringing the wolves with him but she didn't have time to ask. Approaching the police tape they saw earlier, she took in a deep, shaky breath before ducking underneath it, as if passing into a new experience. From this point on, Beth was at risk of being caught and had to be extremely cautious.

The tracks she was obviously making in the snow would've been a dead giveaway as to what was going on. However, since there numerous police officers walking around the area mixed with the heavily falling snow, it probably would be easy to slip around without arousing that must suspicion. She kept to the tree line, not heading straight for the lodge but instead decided to make her way around.

When she a police officer with a flashlight walking in her general direction, Beth quickly hid behind a large tree, strategically hiding her from view. She carefully peeked from around the tree to see the officer still walking towards where she was. She sucked in an icy breath and dug a hand in her pocket, pulling out a small rock. She had collected a few on her way over, knowing that she was going to need a distraction if she was at risk at being caught.

Making sure that she was still out of sight, she threw the stone at another tree with enough force to knock the snow off the trunk. The shifting of the snow caught the attention of the officer causing them to investigate the movement. With their back facing where Beth was, she took that as cue to continue running from tree to tree. She had to continue this process for several more minutes before she was a safe distance away from the lodge. There were a larger number of officers surrounding the lodge and every few minutes or so, one or two entered and exited through the front door.

She carefully made her way to the back of the lodge, thankful that only a few were at the back. There was a small wooden walkway by the stairs that led directly into the building. The miniscule stone suddenly felt heavy in her hand. This next part had to be carried out perfectly. Standing behind a tree by the side of the tree, she threw the stone with all of her strength to the side wall, a dull _thunk_ sounding off of it. She closed her eyes, praying that her move worked and heaved a silent sigh of relief when the officers rounded the corner of the lodge to investigate the sudden sound. When she was sure that they wouldn't see her, Beth bolted for the walkway that led to the stairs to the lodge.

It didn't seem like the officers were ever standing near the walkway since there weren't any snow tracks. She bit her lip nervously since stepping in with her snow covered shoes would definitely drawback attention to herself. Taking a huge gamble (she was making a _lot_ of them today), confident in the possibility that they wouldn't look this far, Beth slipped off her boots, hiding them from view, stepping on the walkway as she did so so that she didn't make any tracks.

She quietly trotted up the stairs and slipped through the door. There didn't seem to be any officers on the top floor. Since their 'disappearance' took place in the mountains, the police probably weren't that concerned about the details of the lodge. Not wasting any time, her footsteps light, Beth made a beeline for her parent's room. Nothing seem to be out of place since the last time she saw it. She immediately opened one of the drawers of the dresser and swiped the silencer.

The item felt foreign in her hand. She never thought that she'd be the one in her family who'd desperately needed a silencer for a shotgun. It brought back memories of her dad showing her how to attach it to the gun and then demonstrating his shooting abilities at the shooting range. She shrugged it off at the time but now she was grateful that she remember what he told her. He'd probably be proud of her if the circumstances were different.

She shook her head, reminding herself that this wasn't the time to reminisce. She had to get out of there. Beth snuck out of the lodge, relieved that the officers didn't seem to have returned to their previous position. She didn't both trying to be quiet this time and hastily shoved her boots back on and went to sprint away.

A flash of light in the corner of her eye caught her off guard and turned to see a amber glow in the distance behind the tree line.

 _Oh, you have_ got _to be kidding me. Of all the times…_

Beth could practically hear the police freaking out over this. A sudden wolf howl caused them to split their attention and a cluster of officers were confused as to what exactly was going on. Beth was also wondering that herself. A flame burst out in the distance again but this time it was seen in a different place. The police were already approaching the source of light and Beth decided to go with her gut with what she was going to do next.

She made her way towards Wolfie. Or Winter, she couldn't tell. With the police's attention elsewhere, they didn't notice the teenager sprinting behind them, heading towards a wolf's howl. As she was running she had to hide behind a couple of trees when she saw a couple of officers easing towards the fire since it was probably radioed in that something strange was going on. Once she was sure that no one else would be wandering in that area, she ran with all of her energy.

She ran for several more minutes until she saw Wolfie sitting in the snow patiently as if waiting for Beth. "Hey, boy. I'm guessing Jack has something to do with this?" She honestly didn't know why she was expecting an answer. However, Wolfie stood up and began to run off. Beth rolled her eyes and followed after him but got slightly annoyed every now and then when the wolf suddenly decided to change directions.

Just when she was about to run out of breath, she saw Jack standing behind a tree holding his piece of paper in his hand with Winter by his side. He looked up and scowled when he saw Beth. "What took you so long?"

Beth huffed. "I'm fine, by the way."

Jack sighed. "Nice to know that you didn't get caught."

"And what have you been doing?"

"Well, the Wendigos are still an issue so I had to use the wolves as a distraction so I can use the flamethrower and get away before the police could catch me."

"So what are we going to do know?"

In response, Jack dug through his bag and pulled out a couple of totems with elaborate designs and patterns with feathers attached down the sides. "Keep the Wendigos away from the police." Beth opened her mouth to reply but a Wendigo's screech beat her to it. Jack wasted no time shoving the piece of paper into her hand. "When they show up, read those words out. They don't have to be perfect, just make them comprehensible."

Beth blanched as she read what she assumed to be the ritual words written in a language that she didn't understand. She had no time to fully read over them since the sound of the Wendigo was getting closer and closer. She began to frantically read the words out and judging by the look on Jack's face, she was pronouncing it correctly. As she spoke the words, the Wendigo seemed to wince as if the words harmed it. It looked over to the totems Jack was holding and hissed at him, backing away slightly.

Seeing the obvious effect they were having on the Wendigo, Beth spoke with more urgency and Jack waved the totems closer to it. He motioned for her to follow him and the two of them circled around the Wendigo so that it was driven further into the forest and away from the lodge and the police. Beth repeated the words one more time and it was enough to drive the Wendigo further away from them. Jack finished their process by quickly stuffing the totems into his bag and let out a final burst of flames to buy them enough time to escape.

"We're not gonna catch it?", Beth called out as they were running.

"It will draw too much attention to us. The police are already suspicious that something is going on and it will be hard to concentrate on avoiding the police and diverting the Wendigo to the Sanitarium at the same time."

They both looked behind them and the Wendigo seemed to have lost track of them, which Beth was grateful for. When they were sure that both the police and the Wendigo weren't going to find them, they both let out a sigh of relief.

"Well, that happened.", Beth huffed.

* * *

When they all returned to the Sanitarium, all of them, including the wolves, felt like collapsing from exhaustion from everything that happened that night. Jack ran a hand over the length of his face. A lot of things could've gone wrong during both of their plans and though he was confident in what he was doing, he wasn't too sure with what Beth had planned. But Beth had a track record for proving him wrong.

"Good job back there.", Jack said to her.

"T-thanks.", she breathed out, trying to catch her breath.

"Got what you needed?", he asked.

Beth nodded and pulled out the silencer out of her pocket, a couple of stones falling out as she did so. She held it up triumphantly and then went over to the shotgun that was lying on the table and quickly attached. She was half-tempted to try it out but Jack put a hand on it as if knowing what she had in mind. "How about you save those bullets for the Wendigos?"

Beth smirked. "Gladly." She set the gun back down. "Well, that should make hunting the Wendigos with the police around a little easier."

"I got to admit-", Jack started, crossing his arms as he did so. "-didn't think you were gonna be able to do all that on your own."

"Wow, thanks.", Beth drawled out.

Jack smirked. "But you did. And to be honest, I'm not sure if I could've done it."

She chuckled. "That must've taken a lot of guts to admit."

"Don't let that be an excuse to slack off."

"Wouldn't dream of it.", Beth shrugged. "I know you're probably too proud to admit _this_ , but I think we're a good team. You know, when you're not a jerk."

"Or when _you're_ not a brat."

"I'm not a brat.", Beth whined defensively.

"Thanks for proving my point."

Beth threw her arms up and turned away to lie down on her mattress, laughing lightly.

As Jack was preparing the food for them to eat that night, he thought back to what Beth said. Yes, they were working well together and Beth was learning fast, especially after her 'mistake'. She didn't seem to show it but Beth did seem to be pretty devastated over what happened and Jack couldn't help but feel a little sorry for her. If he was in her situation, he would probably feel the same.

When he first found Beth, he thought she was going to be the bratty teenage girl he expected most kids to be and at first he thought he was right. But then she showed resolve and skill in fighting and capturing Wendigos in a span of only of a couple of days. She may have been a pain at first, but Jack wanted to admit that she was growing in him.

For a moment, Jack thought, _Okay, maybe she isn't_ that _bad._

* * *

 **Not sure if the Washington parents had their own room in the lodge, but here let's just say that they do. By the way** **, the elevator shaft they used a couple chapters ago and fixed here was the one that Jess fell down in the game (*cough*ButterflyEffectUpdated*cough*). I do not know how two people can fix an elevator from decades ago and I definitely don't know how to write it, so if it's a little unrealistic, just roll with me with this. Okay, so, if all goes as planned, the infamous timeskip we've all been waiting for should be coming in the next few chapters (sorry if this is dragging out too long, this just what I've planned and what I'm going with and I don't have it in me to change it).**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hey guys, so sorry for the late update! Thanks to all of you for being so patient, just had school and other fanfic related stuff occupying my time, so hope this chapter can make up for the slightly longer wait!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

* * *

To say that avoiding the police whilst patrolling the mountain almost every night was difficult was an understatement. Most of the time was dedicated to making sure that both they and the Wendigos were as far away from the authorities as possible and even then, Jack and Beth couldn't seem to drive the Wendigos to the Sanitarium without attracting too much attention.

Beth considered the circumstance as she looked towards the corridor of the cages of Wendigos. "Okay, they are definitely mocking us."

Jack looked up from his food with an oblivious look on his face. "Uh, what?"

She nodded in their direction. "We can't seem to catch them with the police everywhere. And they know that. So they're mocking us."

The older man shook his head. "Keep thinking whatever you want, Beth." She was growing on him, sure, but sometimes she would say things that would perplex him beyond reason. Several weeks had gone by since (as Beth officially dubbed it) the 'Infamous Silencer Steal of Blackwood Mountain' and it seemed that Beth was adjusting well to the new and challenging circumstances. She had taken the situation rather well and the way she infiltrated the lodge and avoided the police's detection left Jack _thoroughly_ impressed. He was beginning to think that she was becoming quite the competent hunter.

Jack didn't say it out loud, but he liked to think he had a _lot_ to do with that.

For those weeks, things seemed to have stayed the same in terms with camping out in the Sanitarium during the day and getting down to business with the serious hunting at night. Though it didn't really count as hunting if they didn't catch any of them.

Every now and again, Jack would see Beth look at her wrist almost expectingly, her face then falling when she didn't seem to find anything. She must've felt Jack's gaze on her because she looked up to meet his eyes. "Sorry. Force of habit, I guess." But he didn't press the matter. He did notice, however, her rocking back on her chair, drumming her hands against it and blowing the hair out of her face.

 _Okay, whatever you want to say, say it._

"Do you know what time it is?", she asked.

Jack frowned at her. Was she a mind reader? "Uh, not exactly. There's probably a clock 'round here somewhere."

"Eh, I checked.", she replied. "It's busted, like most things here."

"Why the sudden interest?"

Beth instinctively grabbed her wrist and tried to hide her face. "My watch. I probably lost in the fall or sometime afterwards." Jack rose an eyebrow. "It was present from Hannah".

Jack nodded. "And you're thinking about it now, because…?"

The teen threw her hands up into the air. "I don't know. Maybe it's because the whole 'fighting for survival' thing made it one of the last things on my mind. Never thought about it until now." She sighed. "I know I can't just go back for it unless I'm asking for death but…" She cut herself and shook her head. "It's stupid, I know."

Jack shook his head. "It's not stupid to care about something." If Beth had brought that up when she had first joined up with him, Jack would've immediately dismissed her, probably tell her to get over it. But, for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to do it now.

Beth studied his face and considered his response for a moment before sighing back into her chair. "I guess."

* * *

A couple of days later, Jack exited his makeshift bedroom and walked down the stairs but was caught slightly off guard when he heard Beth's laugh echoing throughout the room. Once he reached down the stairs, he saw the teenager standing by Wolfie and Snowfall. She was holding a handful of their food above their heads and yelped out in surprise when they jumped for a bite.

Jack expected her to scream and back away, frightened, but instead, she flinched back and quickly recovered, giggling as she did so. She repeated the action and eventually, she knelt down to feed a portion to each wolf. They whined in appreciation and Beth playfully ruffled their furs.

As she stood up, Jack approached her. "Don't tell me you were trying to teach them some trick."

Beth glanced over her shoulder and rolled her eyes. "It was worth a try."

He crossed his arms. "It's a little strange seeing you up so early."

Beth shrugged. "Woke up, couldn't get back to sleep." She petted the wolves again. "And I think it's important we have more bonding time.", she spoke in playful and babyish tone, as if she were talking to her pets.

 _Wait._

"Ugh, they're not pets.", he stated bluntly.

"Let's just agree to disagree?", Beth asked, her lips curling up slyly.

Jack smirked. "Well, you seem to be a little occupied. Think you'll be okay on your own for a while?"

Beth frowned. Jack was going out, in the daytime, without her? That was new. "Um, why? What're you doing?"

He flippantly waved her off. "Ah, just need to check on something. With the police crawling around, it's not helpful that we can only stealthily roam the mountain at night. I just want to make sure that everything's in order."

"So why can't I come with you?", Beth asked suspiciously.

"With police investigating the whole mountain, it's too risky to have the both of us walking around in broad daylight." He could tell that Beth wasn't thoroughly convinced. "Don't worry, I'll be fine."

Beth studied him again and then nodded, pleased with his answer. "Alright, I trust you."

Jack smiled back. He nodded back to the wolves as he went to leave. "I'll let you get back to your 'training'."

"Hey, we'll make progress! Someday…"

He shook his head in amusement. "Whatever you say, Beth."

* * *

For another hour or so, Beth spent her time playing with the wolves. It never failed to amaze her about how easily domesticated the feral animals were and once she had bonded with them, they went from being terrifying to outright precious. Oh, if her friends and family could see her now…

Her friends and family.

She wondered how they were doing now. It felt like an eternity had passed since she had left the safety of the lodge and ventured out into the woods to find her sister. Now look where she was: hunting and captivating cursed monsters. But she couldn't forget why she was there, though. To save her sister. Days had passed and her treks proved to be fruitless. She wondered how Hannah was getting on, where she was now.

Every time, once the search had ended, Beth always went to bed contemplating whether or not she was actually going to find her sister. She always fell asleep silently crying. However, the next morning, she woke up determined that she was going to make progress the next time around. She would stand at the entrance of the corridor of Wendigos, listening to their ravenous cries. She would reiterate her promise that she would find Hannah no matter what.

The cycle continued itself again and again.

* * *

When Jack arrived back at the Sanitarium, Beth couldn't help but notice that he looked a little more… on edge than usual. She frowned at him. "Everything go alright?"

His gaze locked onto hers. The silence went on too long for her liking before he responded. "Yeah, nothing too special. Just scouting the area." He went upstairs before she could say anything.

The next day, she offered that she would accompany Jack in scouting the area but Jack harshly rejected her offer. Beth recoiled at his response but he quickly recovered, saying that her efforts would be better spent watching the Sanitarium and hunting at night.

"Besides, it would be too risky, what with the police patrolling the mountains and all.", he reiterated to her.

Beth crossed her arms. "I'm not that good at it.", she muttered absentmindedly.

She looked up when Jack put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't sell yourself so short."

The hand on her shoulder felt comforting and supportive. She chuckled and looked back to the ground shyly. "Thanks."

She felt a light squeeze. "Anytime."

* * *

One day, Jack didn't arrive back at the time he normally did. Obviously, since she didn't have her watch, Beth didn't know the exact he left and arrived back but she was able to make an approximate estimate.

It was almost an hour since he was supposed to have arrived back. That was too late for her liking? What if something had happened to him? It was broad daylight so it couldn't have been Wendigos, but what if the _police_ had found him? What if their entire operation had been unveiled?

Other 'what ifs' racked her brain. _What if he wasn't coming back?_

Beth knew that she was overreacting; this was Jack, if anyone could handle anything the mountain would throw at them, it would be him. However, as a child, Beth and her siblings were accustomed to staying home alone with a sitter, waiting until late at night for their two working parents to arrive back. Once they had reached their teenage years, they were allowed to stay by themselves but, even then, they still felt isolated despite each other's company.

She spent several more minutes contemplating her thoughts, Beth decided to take things into her own hands. Roughly, grabbing her shotgun off of the table and hastily scribbling a note just in case Jack came back, Beth was ready to set out to find him. She paused in her tracks when she realised that this was the first time she was venturing out into the mountain alone.

Well, the first time with the knowledge of Wendigos.

She pushed any doubtful thoughts that were bubbling to the surface. If Jack was out there in need of help, then it would be all up to her. Stepping out of the Sanitarium, snow biting at her face, Beth made her way towards the main gate. Beth wrapped her arms around herself and increased her pace in a desperate attempt to warm up, looking down to the ground to avoid snow stinging her eyes.

Just as she reached the gate, ready to face whatever the mountain had in store…

Jack bumped into her on the way out. His face was covered his googles and cloth but his surprised expression was definitely visible. They stood staring at each other for a moment before Jack gently gripped Beth's arm and led her back into the Sanitarium. She didn't protest.

Once they were in, Jack took his facial protection off and frowned at Beth. Though it wasn't the angry or frustrated kind from many times before. This time, he looked worried and concerned.

"What _were_ you do-?" His words were cut off by Beth unexpectedly throwing her arms around him in a momentary hug. Before he could even question what she doing, she broke apart from him.

Beth wiped her eyes. When was she crying? "Sorry. I was just…" She looked down embarrassingly. "I was worried about you. You were taking so long."

Jack sighed and motioned for Beth to follow him back in. "The snow was slowing me down, lost my way for a while." He caught sight of her frightened expression. "Don't worry. No one saw me and I'm back in one piece. That's a victory these days."

Beth chuckled. "You got that right." She cleared her throat. "Sorry about that. I just got scared that something had happened."

Jack's eyes widened momentarily. "Oh, uh, you were _that_ worried?"

She rolled her eyes. "Don't make a big deal out of it."

"It's kinda hard not to."

* * *

They ate dinner in silence that night, the snow melting off their clothes and into a small puddle at their feet. Beth pretended that she didn't catch Jack glaring at her.

After a long while, he spoke. "You wanna tell me what that was about?"

She sighed dramatically. "Excuse me for being concerned for your safety."

"Hey, don't get me wrong, I appreciate your concern. But the way you looked at me back there… you looked terrified. That's not normal, even for you."

Beth stuffed another mouthful of food into her mouth as if trying to avoid conversation. "It's nothing… just another stupid thing…"

"Just spit it out."

She sighed again. "When me and my siblings were younger, we would always stay up late waiting for our parents to come home from work. But we'd always get scared when they didn't come back until the early hours of the morning."

Jack connected the dots himself. He understood what Beth was trying to tell him. The pitying look he was giving her was like one would give to an injured puppy.

When she met his gaze, he didn't look away. Beth shook her head, laughing humourlessly. "I know, it's childish and stupid."

"No.", Jack frantically cut her off. "It's not. Don't ever put yourself down like that." Beth shut her mouth. "It's normal to be scared of things."

She snorted. "Yeah, but you're not scared of anything, right?"

Jack smirked and his head snapped to face where the Wendigos' shrieks were coming from. "You couldn't be more wrong, kid." He sighed. "If I'm being completely honest, those things scare me every night. You'd think I would've gotten used to it after all those years, but every time I hear them scream. Every time they pounce towards me… it always gets me."

That… wasn't what she was expecting. To Beth, Jack always came off as someone who so sure of what he was doing but him telling her that he was just as scared she she was… it reminded her that he was just as human as she was.

"Wow.", she breathed. "I'm sorry, I didn't know."

He waved her off. "Ah, it's fine."

"No, it's not.", she stated firmly. "It's not fair that you had to deal with that on your own for all that time. You may have been doing this for a long time, but you're right, it doesn't make it easier."

Jack was at a loss of words when Beth spoke. Maybe it was his years of isolation but it meant a lot to him to hear supportive words like that. With no one else understanding where he was coming from, Jack felt alone in his situation. However, as annoying Beth was from the start and couldn't deny how terrible her situation was, it was somewhat comforting to understand what he was dealing with.

He sighed deeply and gave Beth a grateful look. "Thanks kid, I appreciate it. Really, I do."

Beth smiled back softly. "Anytime, Jack. Anytime."

* * *

Jack had made it a thing to not come back late after that and the two of them wordlessly agreed to stick together when they went hunting at night. They never spoke about their conversation the other night; there was nothing else to talk about.

Beth had been more tolerant about Jack going out late as the next couple of days had gone on but she would've been put more at ease if she knew what Jack was doing every night for the past week.

Nightfall was only a while away and, at this point, Jack had trusted Beth to take care of her own preparations for the hunt. She had honed her shooting skills (not using the shot gun for a _while_ left her a little rusty), brushed up on the last-resort rituals and took care of keeping the shot gun cleaned and loaded.

However, that night, she noticed that the gun was looking quite empty compared to when she would normally use it. Jack was nowhere to be found in their usual hang-pit so she opted for carrying out her own little scavenger hunt around the Sanitarium. She had checked her room, Jack's room and even inspected the weathered cupboards and drawers.

Absolutely nothing.

After she was about to give up her search, she noticed that Jack's bag was sitting on the table. He must've arrived back when she was looking around but the man himself was nowhere to be seen. She contemplated it for a while, not wanting to invade his privacy, but Beth decided, after becoming frustrated that she came up with nothing during her search, to see if he had spare bullets lying at the bottom of his bag. He probably wouldn't mind, she thought.

She searched blindly in his bag, trying her best to avoid her gaze from anything that would mean she was invading his privacy, and felt around for anything that felt or sounded like bullets. Her search was finally victorious when she found a handful of something that were definitely bullets.

Smirking, she yanked her hand out of the bag.

Nothing could've prepared her for the shocking revelation that followed afterwards.

After Beth pulled her hand out, smiling at the bullets in her hand, she heard something clatter out of the bag. Absentmindedly, she went to pick it up and place it back but her hand froze halfway when she realised what it was.

There, glinting in the dull light, dried blood smeared all over the front-

 _NonononononoNO! Anything but that!_

-were Hannah's glasses.

* * *

 **Yeah, so, the dreaded cliffhanger is back… did you guys miss it?**


	15. Chapter 15

**So, good news, another long chapter, bad news… yeah. This is not a happy one but you all knew that, didn't you? Hope you guys can still enjoy! Merry Christmas and happy holidays for those celebrating!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

* * *

This… this was what she feared. Her nightmare was now physical and tangible in front of her. It took an agonising amount of time for her to kneel down and reach out to pick up the glasses. Hannah's glasses.

The plastic was cold and sent a painful chill throughout her body. It took all of Beth's resolve to not be sick as she got a closer look at the smeared blood. Hannah's blood.

She put her free hand to her stomach, though her eyes did not leave the object. Everything… everything that she had been working and fighting for was to make sure that this didn't happen.

Beth _promised_ that she would be back for Hannah. She _promised_ that she would find her and bring her back safe. She couldn't break her promises.

But she did. Beth had failed her sister.

Cradling the glasses in both hands so carefully as if they were the most precious thing she had left, she held them close to her chest. She lowered her head in shame, allowing herself to weep. To grieve.

All of a sudden, all of the memories she spent with Hannah came rushing back to her: the parties they went to with their friends, the fun they had with their brother, the way that they stuck by each other through thick and thin, the way Beth rolled her eyes in annoyance after seeing the tattoo Hannah got to impress the guy she liked.

The way they had looked after each other no matter what. And Beth failed in that.

Another realisation her mind drifts to soon rams into her like a truck: Jack had found something belonging to Hannah and didn't tell her about it. She backed away from his bag in disbelief. All of those times when Jack went out on his own… was that when he her glasses? If so, why didn't he tell her?

If he possibly knew anything about what happened to Hannah, she had every right to know. They had grown close over the past few weeks and Beth thought they now had both a mutual respect and _trust_ for each other. He knew how crucially important bringing Hannah back safe and sound was to her and he had seen the lengths she went to to learn how to control the monsters responsible for the nightmare she was in. So if he knew something about Hannah, why did he keep it from her?

What did this even mean for Hannah? Jack possessing her glasses put forward a cold, hard truth that she wasn't ready- _wasn't willing_ -to accept.

She now began to wonder what Hannah could've been thinking in the time she was in the mines. Cold, hurt, alone. The pain she felt when being trapped underground with no proper way of making her way around to safety. The despair she must've felt when Beth promised she come back for her but never did. Right when Hannah needed her most, she was too late in reaching her and was thrown to her demise.

If Jack predicted that this was what he would find in the mines, Beth could've gone with him. For all she knew, Hannah could've still been down in the mines, waiting tirelessly for her sister to come back to her. She wrapped her arms around herself protectively. While she had been safe (as safe as one could be in the Sanitarium), Hannah was left freezing in the mines, practically served up onto a silver platter for the Wendigos.

She had to swallow down the bitter bile building up her throat. She didn't even register the footsteps behind her. They suddenly stopped without warning. "Beth?"

The girl grimaced and squeezed her eyes shut. Her head shot up and before she could even contemplate turning around to face Jack, she whipped around to glare at him with the most broken yet furious expression she had ever given a person.

* * *

Jack had to sort out a few technicalities in the Sanitarium but was confident that Beth would be able to handle things on her own. While he would rarely say it out loud, she had definitely been growing on him. When she was willing to venture out into the cold and dark when she thought he was in trouble solidified the fact that not only was Beth courageous enough to leave the safety of the Sanitarium but she was willing to do it for _him_. The way she threw herself into a hug when she realised that everything was okay made Jack realise that maybe they weren't as disconnected as he thought.

He had always kept himself isolated from the girl and set up an indestructible wall yet Beth had the resolve to demolish it whenever she was tested. He was trying his best to be less of a nuisance to her and figured that the respect and trust they had for each other was changing their relationship for the better.

However, whenever he remembered what Beth's reasons for sticking around ultimately came down to, he would be back to square one about how he wanted to handle her. She would reiterate that she was fighting endlessly for the sole purpose of finding her sister.

Even the mere thought of it made him roll his eyes. Anyone who knew what they were up against would be able to tell that no one could escape a serious Wendigo attack alive. But, again, Beth was insistent and he couldn't get through to her.

That's when Jack decided enough was enough and headed out by himself in order to-

He stopped in his tracks when he saw Beth standing in front of his bag. Her body looked rigid and stiff and she wasn't saying a word. Actually, no, she wasn't completely stiff, it looked like she was shaking slightly. What could've possibly been wrong? Jack stepped to the side, ready to ask what was wrong, when he caught sight of what was gripped in her hand.

"Beth?", he asked uncertainly.

Almost immediately the girl turned around to face him and Jack's insides broke when he saw the tear tracks on her cheeks. Nevertheless, he tried his best to keep his composure. "What's wrong?"

"You tell me.", her voice cracked. She maintained eye contact with him and Jack could feel the bitterness radiating off of her. "What?", she spat venomously. "Got nothing to say?"

Jack sighed. "I know how bad this looks-"

Beth scoffed sarcastically. "You don't say."

He didn't miss a beat. "But this was all for your sake."

"Really? So you finding my sister's glasses and _not_ telling me about it was for my own good?!"

"Yes.", Jack simply replied.

"How can you be so calm about this?", she yelled at him. "You knew how much this meant to me! Are my feelings just not that important to you?"

"Of course not!" Beth could tell that Jack was obviously offended y that accusation but she didn't have it in herself to care. "I knew this was a big deal to you so I…" It was very rare for Jack to be at a loss for words. "I just wanted to help you."

Beth rolled her eyes. "Yeah right. Let's face it: you never cared about my search for Hannah. Did you ever care about me? Or was I just a means to an end, just some tool to for you to use to catch your precious monsters?!"

In all honesty, Beth expected him to snap at her again, but he kept his cool to an almost disturbing degree. "How can you think that? After everything we've done for each other? Do you really think I value you that little?" Beth shrugged nonchalantly. "Man, I really messed up big time here." That was said mostly to himself.

Beth knew that her words to Jack were harsh but after months of frustration and anguish, this new revelation just twisted everything she felt on its head. She gave a humourless laugh. "At least you got that right." She pretended that she didn't catch the way he winced at that remark. "So, what? Care to explain what this was all about?", she demanded, holding Hannah's glasses in a grip so tight that almost snapped under her hold.

Jack sighed. He really didn't want to do this…

"Do you… remember when I first went out on my own?" Beth nodded. "Well, you seemed so fixated in finding your sister, so eventually decided to conduct a search? of my own." He saw Beth's posture relax slightly though her eyes still betrayed her sorrow. "I didn't find anything for few days… until a while ago, when I found her glasses." He shifted slightly, contemplating what to say next. "And, some other stuff. In my bag. You can look if you want."

Beth's face was now unreadable. She didn't budge an inch, she just stood there, studying him intently. "What else?"

Jack blanched. "Sorry, what?"

She stepped forward. "That's not it, isn't it? There's something else. Tell me." Her voice was low but carried such a large weight.

Jack blew through his teeth, reprimanding himself for letting Beth get so good at reading him. There was something else. Something he was hoping to avoid telling her. "Beth, please, this is not the time-"

"Then when is the time?!", she interrupted. "Quit stalling and tell me! You owe me that much!"

Beth was right. He was stalling. Only because he didn't want her to experience more sorrow and despair than she already was. But she had him backed into the corner, so he couldn't hide any longer.

He gave a long sigh. "Okay." He paused for a moment, trying to find the right words to say next. "It was a couple of days ago… I was finding some other stuff that either belonged to you or you sister… I don't know." He looked down to the ground but saw Beth protectively crossing her arms. "And then I found…" Jack grimaced and turned his head to the side. "It wasn't a pretty sight."

Beth's breath caught in her throat and stumbled back slightly.

"I'm so, _so_ sorry, Beth."

"No.", was all she could say.

All surrounding noise was gone, it was just her and Jack.

"I'm sorry… but, your sister is dead."

* * *

 _Your sister is dead._

Beth let out a choked cry and clutched the glasses closer to her chest. In all honesty, Beth _knew_ that this was coming, it had been coming for weeks now, but she held onto even the slightest fraction of hope that maybe, just maybe, Hannah could've been out there, waiting for her.

But she wasn't. Because she was dead. Gone. Never to be heard from again (oh, what Beth would've given to hear her voice one last time).

 _I'm not… I'm not ready for this._

She let a hand shoot up to her mouth because the urge to vomit was too strong now. She leaned down at an angle as her stomach cramped up and reluctantly looked over her shoulder at Jack's bag. Beth desperately wanted to look at what else of hers was salvaged but, right now, even the thought of looking at Hannah's belongings made the stabbing sensation in her heart too much for her to bear.

"Beth?", she heard the monster ask. She could see his hand hesitantly reach out to place onto her shoulder in a pathetic attempt at comfort. For a fleeting moment, Beth actually wanted his company so desperately. She had already lost so much…

However, when the hand actually made contact, she tore away violently, as if burned by his lethal touch. Jack flinched as if he had been struck.

"I _am_ so sorr-"

" _Don't you dare._ ", she seethed. "Don't you _dare_ , try to say that you're sorry. You _knew_. You knew and you didn't tell me."

Jack held up his hands as if in surrender. "I just didn't know how to break it to you. I didn't want you to get hurt."

Beth gave a bitter laugh. _Was that a laugh or a sob?_ She couldn't tell and she didn't care. "And how did that work out?"

He sighed and put a hand over his face. "I honestly don't know what to tell you, kid. But what I do know is that it wasn't you fault."

Beth's eyes snapped up to meet his as she hyperventilated. "Not my fault? Not my fault?!", she screeched. "Of course it was my fault! If I hadn't have left her there on her own-!"

"You would've been dead as well!", Jack countered.

She scoffed. "Like that would've been so bad.", she muttered.

Jack's eyes widened and stomped over to grip both her shoulders tightly. Beth tried to break away but Jack wasn't having any of it. "You don't mean that!"

Tears rapidly spilled out from Beth's eyes. Her vision was blurry but when it cleared, she could see Jack's eyes glistening as well. "Do I?!", she retorted. "I don't even know anymore!"

Beth's emotions were a mess. She was mourning for many things: Hannah's death, Jack's lies, her guilt, her family's loss. It was all becoming too much for her.

She had to get away. Kneeing Jack in the stomach, she violently pushed him away and ran, without even picking up her shotgun. Without hesitation, she ran for the door.

Jack was still recovering as she pushed heavily on the door. He held out a hand. "Beth, wait! It's not safe yet!"

Throwing her head up to the ceiling, Beth screamed, " _I don't care anymore!_ "

She knew that this was a bad idea as she burst through the doors of the Sanitarium. Daybreak was still a while away but it was still too dangerous for any of them to be out. However, any good judgement was out the door as her mind was clouded by her grief and anguish.

She just wanted to get as far away from Jack as possible, even if it meant being out in the open for the Wendigos.

A small, pathetic part of her thought that that wouldn't be so bad.

* * *

Running through the biting cold without protection was definitely a bad idea, but Beth thought it would be _hilarious_ to bet how long it would be until she died of hypothermia or a Wendigo attack. She also knew jokes were sick and twisted but Beth had to vent her sorrow out somehow.

Despite her willing to be found by the Wendigos, however, she didn't want the police to catch her. Even though it came down to her own actions, they were useless. What worthwhile investigations were they doing? They were merely chasing their tails and, without her and Jack, they probably would've been torn to shreds or worse.

She stuffed her hands into her pockets and felt the crumpled piece of paper that had the chants and ritual stuff that she always kept on her person. It seemed like so long ago when Jack first handed the piece of paper and she chanted the repelling words. It wasn't flawless, of course but when it helped drive the Wendigo away, she couldn't help but feel the spark of relief when she actually did it right.

Back when she and Jack were a team.

Deep down, Beth knew that Jack wasn't at fault for what happened. After all, he was working hard to find something about Hannah himself and she couldn't imagine what he must've been thinking when his search came up fruitless.

 _What was the phrase? Don't shoot the messenger?_

But that didn't change a thing. Hannah was dead and Jack had lied to her about it.

* * *

After recovering from Beth's blow, Jack immediately grabbed his flamethrower and bolted out to find the grieving teenager. She was upset and rightfully so, but that didn't change the fact that she headed out into the Wendigo's territory without the proper protection. To say that her emotions were clouding her judgement would've been an understatement but now this decision of hers could cost her dearly.

He placed his goggles over his eyes and his scarf over his mouth and nose to protect him from the attacking elements, though he doubted that Beth would've taken such precautions. He decided that once he got Beth back to the Sanitarium he was going to have a serious conversation about how sorry he was about her sister and also the stupidity of her of going out without protection. The order of those were yet to be determined.

Not letting his guard down, he followed the shallow but clear footsteps that were gradually being covered by the thick snowfall. For all he knew, Beth could've been anywhere by now but following the faint trail was his best bet now. While finding Hannah and her belongings in the mines was down to him, he knew that he wasn't at fault for the whole situation but he couldn't help the guilt he felt for not telling Beth, which inadvertently provoked her into leaving.

Anything that happened from this point would've been his fault and once he got Beth back, he promised himself that he would do everything he could to make it up to her and also building up the precious trust and bond that they had. At first, Jack didn't want any personal relationship to the kid, but after seeing what skill she had and what she was willing to do to save someone she loved, he began to admire her for that. His own grandfather's dedication to catch the Makkipitew was what killed him and Jack had reprimanded himself for his lack of skill and weaknesses ever since. He had gotten stronger since then but he didn't want to see Beth's own ambition lead her to the same cruel demise.

He couldn't save his grandfather, but he would save this kid.

* * *

 _What was she doing? This was a ridiculous idea!_

She was furious, torn apart, conflicted, but this was not the way to go about dealing with it. Jack was right (and she really didn't want to admit that right now), she didn't want to die out there. As much as she didn't want to be anywhere near Jack, she had to mourn properly. Not run away like a stubborn child when things became too hard.

Heaving a long sigh of frustration, she pulled her sleeves further over her hands and her coat closer over her chest. She wrapped her arms around herself and rubbed her arms in a pathetic attempt to warm up. She couldn't stay out here any longer.

She had to go back.

* * *

"Beth!", Jack called out over the howling wind. After a long while of not being able to find the teenager, what with the lack of tracks, the snow storm blurring his vision and just the vast space they were in, Jack opted to shouting. It was a reckless choice, and he knew that, but he couldn't see any better options.

"Beth!" Every time the name left his lips, his anxiety and fear for her safety grew more and more. Ever since he left the Sanitarium, he was on edge but when his search came about fruitless, he couldn't seem to think straight. For all he knew, she could've been dead or even found by the police. But Jack knew that he couldn't give up. Not when he would so hard to protect this kid, not when she worked so hard herself to get to this point.

The echoing shrieks in the whistling wind made Jack stop dead in his tracks. He knew his actions would've had this consequence but he figured that he would've found Beth before that.

But he didn't. Instead, he turned around to see the skeletal body of the Wendigo emerging from the snowy mist. It glared at him with twisted glee and its eyes took it every one of his features, studying him up and down. Neither of them made a move and if it wasn't for the way the Wendigo was looking at him, Jack would've guessed that it couldn't see him.

He slowly went to raise his flamethrower but as he did, the Wendigo's snarl grew wider. It was a game of cat and mouse, though who was who was unclear. The Wendigo then went into the stance to pounce Jack immediately went on the offensive, letting the flames spray upon the beast.

However, once the flames dissipated, the Wendigo was no longer in his line of sight.

* * *

Beth's walk back to the Sanitarium was halted when she heard a scream.

It wasn't from a Wendigo.

* * *

Her walk turned into a full-on sprint as the shouts got louder and louder. She knew that Jack would've followed her out into the forest but she didn't want him to put himself in danger for her sake. Even after everything that had happened, Beth didn't want anything to happen to her friend. She was angry, yes, but it wasn't at Jack. Ultimately, it were the Wendigos that had driven her to this point.

And now she was out here, alone and desperate while Jack was most likely fearing for her life. And that was why she had to find him: to let him know that she didn't blame him for anything.

She made her way around a bunch of trees to see Jack… up against a Wendigo!

"Jack!", she immediately called out in fear.

Both the older man and the monster turned to look at her but Jack's expression went from surprised to petrified. "Get out of here, kid!"

Shaking her head, Beth whipped out the paper written with the words needed to drive the Wendigos away, shouting them out with desperation. While that was happening, Jack was still trying to douse the Wendigo but it kept on evading his attacks. However, the two of them didn't waver despite Jack's pleas for Beth to run away.

The violent snowstorm and Jack's wave of flames made it incredibly hard for Beth to see straight but persevered nonetheless. When the mist in front of her cleared, the Wendigo was directly in front of her, baring its teeth with feral hunger. If it was any other day, Beth would've screamed or tried to run away, but she only moved back a couple of steps, yelling the words with more and more desperation. All of a sudden, he heard Jack cry out as well as another array of flames burst forth from beside her. The Wendigo screeched and pounced away from the flames but Jack didn't cease his attack. It just kept on going, to the point the Beth couldn't see properly and had to move back to avoid getting burned. She tried to yell out to Jack to take it easy, but the man didn't seem to have heard her so she opted for shielding her eyes with an arm. However, her blood ran cold when a pained cry rang out at the same moment the heat of the flames ceased.

Beth wished she had her shotgun with her. She practically screamed the words out in that moment and, to her surprise, the Wendigo shrieked and could hear it scuffle away in the snow. When everything was silent, Beth reluctantly opened her eyes, relief jumping out of her chest as she saw the sun rise.

They had made it. They survived a Wendigo attack until dawn. She heaved out a long and hard breath that turned in a slight laugh. In that moment, the sun hadn't looked so beautiful.

She turned to face her partner. "Jack, we did it! We actually did-"

Her smile fell she turned fully around. What she expected to see was Jack with the same look of relief that, despite their previous argument and the discourse between them, they were still able to remain a unit and work as a team to drive away the Wendigo. It meant that, whatever happened, they were still a team. Once they were back at the Sanitarium, she would have to apologise profusely for putting him in that situation and making him have to save her again. Apologise for getting mad at him when all he wanted to do was help.

And thank him for everything he had done for her.

But the nightmare she instead saw was Jack.

With a gaping, _bloody_ hole in his stomach.


	16. Chapter 16

**Last chapter didn't end on the best note but this one will answer the questions people had regarding the fates of Jack and Hannah! Hope you guys enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

* * *

It took a moment for Beth to process what she was seeing. One minute Jack was flawlessly battling against the Wendigos, saving her from her own _stupid_ mistakes, the next he was… he was…

Standing right in front of her, with an expression that mirrored hers, a jagged and messy wound in his stomach, blood rapidly seeping out and tainting his already dark clothes.

Beth shook her head frantically. It wasn't supposed to be like this. The Wendigo was gone and the sun was coming up, so they should've been safe. How could Jack have gotten wounded? He was… _Jack_. She would've expected herself to get hurt again, because out of the two of them, he should've gotten out of this unharmed. After everything that he had done for her, she repaid it all by storming out, putting him in danger as a result.

And now here he was. Paying the price for her mistakes.

She let out a strangled cry as Jack stumbled slightly, blood spitting out of his mouth before falling forward. Beth surged towards to catch him but the obvious weight made it difficult for her to keep Jack upright. Once she was able to stable him, she opted to gently easing his body to the snow covered ground. The cold probably wasn't good for his wound but Beth didn't know how else to handle the situation.

Her breath hitched and tears spilled from her eyes when Jack let out what seemed to be a cross between a cry and a gurgle. Since he seemed too weak to move himself, Beth guided his face so that he could cough up his blood without choking on it. Beth hastily took the cloth that covered his face and frantically went to wipe his face. It seemed like all she could do in that moment but the rational side of her knew that it was futile since Jack would just cough up more blood straight after.

Jack winced and weakly inched his arm toward his so that he could reach his back, or at least was trying to. When Beth caught onto what he was attempting to she, as gently as she could, ease Jack's body slightly to the side. She clamped a hand over her mouth when she saw thick red blood seeping from his back as well. As well as his front, the back of Jack's coat was also ripped and torn.

That could've meant one thing: Wendigo impaled Jack from the back… and all the way through his body.

Her hands instinctively recoiled from Jack's wounds. She tried and failed miserably to get her breathing under control. Her mind told her to do everything in her power to help Jack, but what could she do? She couldn't do anything.

Swallowing down her dread, she removed her own coat in a feeble attempt to wrap up his wounds and ignored the assault of the snow storm around her. Just as the coat made contact with the wounds, Jack's hand immediately gripped it and shoved it back at her in a sudden surge of strength. The two of them fought tirelessly in a pathetic form of back and forth.

"S-st-sto-op.", he choked out.

Beth sobbed again at the weakness of Jack's voice. "No, you stop. Let me help you."

Somehow Jack still didn't relent. "I-I't-s-s ok-ay…"

"No! It's not! If it weren't for me, you wouldn't even be here. Please! Let me make it right!"

Here she was again. Convincing herself that she could save someone important to her when the reality was staring at her in the eye. This was hopeless, there was no way of treating Jack's wounds, but… she still had to try!

"I can help…", her determination grew weaker with every agonising second. "I can save someone."

She didn't notice that her hands went to rest on top of Jack's chest. Beth was clutching the soaked fabric hopelessly almost considering shaking the life back into the man. There was so much she wanted to say, what she _had_ to say. So much to thank him for. So much to apologise for.

"I-It's o-kay… s-so-sor-ry…"

His words came out in an incoherent mess, but Beth understood him perfectly.

She couldn't let him see her like this. A meek attempt at a smile creeped onto her face. "You have nothing to be sorry for.", she promised.

Jack didn't respond.

Only a small puff of air escaped his lips.

And his chest ceased to rise and fall.

* * *

Beth didn't waver as she dragged Jack's lifeless body back to the Sanitarium. Her movements were almost robotic, emotionless, like she was working on autopilot. As if she hadn't fully grasped the reality of the situation that transpired mere minutes ago. A part of her wanted to do what Jack wanted and keep her coat on, but the more selfish and stubborn side of her kept it wrapped around the older man to stem the wound.

She wanted to hide the grisly wound from her sight as well as she could, but even still the blood keeping bleeding the bod- from _Jack's_ body. Besides, with the snow storm still going on, even if the blood created a nightmare of a trail, it was most likely going to be covered soon after. Beth could've laughed; this clever, forward thinking of Jack's was definitely rubbing off on her.

The more she dragged Jack through the snow, the deeper that feeling in her gut seemed to sink. Beth wanted nothing more than to throw up at the prospect of dragging the cold, blood, lifeless body of someone dear to her, but she couldn't disrespect Jack like that. She had messed up so, so badly that she couldn't afford to disappoint him even further.

She paused for a moment to wipe her eyes and nose with her hand. Some hunter she was.

Beth couldn't even gauge what time of day it was by the time she made it back to the Sanitarium, but she didn't stop until she was fully through the threshold of the door and beginning to make her way in from the cold. Once she was inside, she abruptly collapsed to her knees. She could no longer choke down her emotions and she wrapped her arms around her stomach as if to possibly cease her hyperventilation and the rising urge to be sick.

However, all she could mutter out was a feeble, "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry!" She yelled as loudly as her voice would allow her, even though she knew that Jack would ever hear her. The only response she got where the shrieks of the Wendigos which only caused Beth to cry out louder. She screamed and screamed until her throat began to ache.

Everything that had happened was because of _them_. If _they_ weren't in the woods, she and Hannah would've been safe. Jack wouldn't have had to worry about looking after a bratty teenager. She knew how capable Jack was, how he most definitely would've survived longer if she wasn't in his life. But now he's gone because of her.

What was she supposed to do now?

Her thoughts were cut off by the sound of whining and Beth looked over her shoulder to see Snowfall and Wolfie padding towards her. They slowly sat on either side of her looking solemnly over the deceased body. Beth began weeping all over again; the fact Jack had the wolves so long that they were affected by his death hit her hard. Her breath catching in her throat, she reached out her hands to pet both of their heads.

"I know, guys. I'm sorry. I'm gonna miss him too."

* * *

After another half hour or so of mourning, Beth ceased her crying and stood up and looked over the motionless form below her. As much as she wanted to cry her eyes out all over again but in that moment, she couldn't afford to. The moment Jack's life left his body, she was the only Wendigo hunter left, the only one capable to carry on his work.

The thought of that terrified her. She wasn't sure if she was able to do this whole thing without her partner. She was just teenager and the only reason she was doing so well was only due to Jack's advice and guidance. He would let her know that she was doing a great job and complimented her on her developing shooting and hunting skills. But handling a cursed mountain, armed only with a shotgun and two domesticated wolves?

Maybe she was getting ahead of herself.

She had to give herself something to do. She couldn't sit around all day pitying herself. That wasn't what Jack gave his life for. Beth couldn't just stand around, she had to make sure that his sacrifice meant something.

Beth crossed her arms and looked away from Jack for a moment. Her eyes hesitantly travelled back to his body and Beth balled her hands into fists. She couldn't just leave Jack this way, he deserved better. Muttering another apology, she momentarily stepped away, cringing slightly as she did so. Even when she was trying to do good, she was abandoning her friend.

She rummaged around the upstairs of the Sanitarium until she found what she was looking for: a shovel. The feel of the cold chilling metal in her hands kept driving the sickening truth and reality further into her soul. Taking in a shaky breath, she trotted back down the stairs, blocking out the echoing growls of the Wendigos as if they didn't matter anymore. She waited until the snow storm began to die down since she couldn't afford anything else getting in her way.

It took a while for her to make a final decision but Beth opted for the space down the side of the Sanitarium. She let a frustrated breath when she cleared a space of snow and ran a chilly hand through her disheveled hair. Well, she couldn't afford to stall any longer, she had to get on with her task. She started out by stabbing the shovel into the hard dirt and, thankfully, it didn't snap under the pressure. A small chunk of the ground had been dug out, though it would definitely take a while before the grave was fully dug out.

Beth continued to move robotically with her movements, barely straying from her task. She was focused on that and only that and she wasn't going to get distracted. Whenever her mind wandered to think about Jack and Hannah, she vigorously shook those thoughts away, otherwise she would begin mourning all over again. But she couldn't do that now. First, she'll fulfil her task and everything else she had to do. Then she'll mourn.

She couldn't afford to show anymore weaknesses.

* * *

About a couple of hours later, the grave had been fully dug. Beth gently laid the shovel to the side and stared among her handiwork. Her gazed was fixed onto the result of her actions; everything she had done had led her up to this point, she had the chance to make things better, but where did that get her?

As everything came crashing down on her, Hannah and Jack being dead and now she's all alone, Beth honestly felt like curling up into a ball in the grave and just shut out the rest of world. She didn't want to deal with anything anymore, what was the point when she was all alone?

She clamped her hands over her ears as she tried to shut those feelings down but they seemed to overwhelm her thoughts. To distract herself from her own thoughts, she went back into the Sanitarium and saw that Wolfie and Snowfall didn't budge an inch from Jack's body. Even when he was dead, his wolves were still loyal. Beth gave a sorrowful smile at that. She gave them a supportive ruffle of their furs.

"Thanks for taking care of him for me, guys.", she whimpered out. She stood frozen, staring over Jack's body. The thought of putting him in a grave made her even more sick.

She hesitantly knelt down and eased her arms under his back and began dragging through the door as gently as she could. She had cleared the pathway of snow the best she could so that she couldn't afford to disrespect his body more than she already had. Once she had laid him down by the side of the grave, she leaned over and put her hands on her knees, heaving out a weary sigh. This was all becoming too much for her and now what she was going to do would seal her fate.

She was _alone_.

* * *

It took all of her careful planning and movements to gingerly lower Jack into the grave. The last thing she wanted was to simply dump him in but it was definitely a challenge to do it without fault, given how deep she had dug the grave. Lowering him down definitely should've been a two person job but Beth had to opt for jumping in first and then pulling and lowering Jack in as delicately as she could. She felt the bile rising up in her throat when she let go of him but swallowed it down as she went to climb back out.

One would say that she was carefully taking her time climbing up but, once again, she was stalling. Because exiting the grave would solidify her goodbye to her friend, the reality that the friendship they had was now severed for eternity. In a sickening kind of way, Beth was slightly jealous of him, at least now he would no longer have to suffer through the nightmare called life. One might call her heartless for thinking that, but Beth didn't care for false pride.

After all, who was around to judge her anymore?

She didn't even register her picking up the shovel and throwing back the first chunk of dirt.

* * *

Filling the grave was another slow process. Beth had to take a few moments to collect herself after throwing a few piles of dirt over Jack's cold, lifeless body. However, all things considered, she thought that she was handling the situation pretty well. She kept telling herself that even after Jack being completely immersed in the dirt made her weep again.

She was half-tempted to just shove all of the dirt into the grave as quickly as she could just to get it over with, but stopped herself soon after. These were the last memories she was going to have with Jack, she couldn't tarnish his memory like that. The next hour of her life was agony as if she was the one stabbed through the gut with that bony skinny arm. The hour was even a blur; she didn't register that she was halfway done and the guilt built up even more. So much for cherishing and preserving her last memories of Jack.

After that, she couldn't take it anymore. She mustered all of her strength to wrestle twice as much dirt onto the shovel and threw into the hole. Her mind had gone blank for a long time now as she was still struggling to comprehend everything that had led her up to this point. Of course, she definitely knew what was going on now, but she couldn't seem to think about what would happen _after_ this was all over. Beth's emotions were all over the place and she didn't have the energy to set them straight.

Her eyes closed yet she still continued shovelling, she had done it enough times to gauge where she had to shovel from. Working in autopilot seemed to be a blissful state of mind for Beth. However, the luxury didn't last for her because she opened her eyes when she heard the shovel hit hard ground. Her gaze shot sideways and she realised that there was nothing left for her to do.

She looked down upon Jack's grave, completely dug and then refilled. Her handiwork was shoddy (what was knew?) so Beth used the back of the shovel to pat down the dirt in order to straighten out the grave. It was a small detail and only took a moment but, to Beth, every moment counted. As shattered as she was about Jack's demise, she wanted his makeshift funeral to be perfect.

Once she was done, she gently laid the shovel at her feet and looked around for a moment. She didn't want to leave him again but there was still something that she _could_ do. She wandered down the side of the Sanitarium and scanned the area for what she was looking for. She picked up a generous amount of small rocks and brought them back to the grave and began spelling Jack's name on the dirt.

When she completely done, Beth awkwardly bounced on her heels, hands intertwined in front of her. "Uh… so, Jack…", she mumbled reluctantly. "Hope this was okay. Sorry, if it's not. I never had to do this before and I'm not much of a grave digger…" She buried her face in her hands in shame. She was terrible at this.

"I… I'm sorry, Jack. I'm sorry for everything. You were only trying to help me and all I did was snap at you in return.", she whimpered, tears slowly streaming down her face. "You didn't deserve this. And I didn't deserve your kindness. Maybe you… you would've been better off if you didn't save me that night!"

Now, she was mourning all over again. She could blame her friends and the Wendigos all she wanted but, when it really came down to it, Jack was only dead because he was kind enough to spare her life. Even when she made his life unimaginably difficult with her risky decisions and throwing a wrench into what he was used to, Jack still did all he could to protect her. He could've thrown her out into the woods and left her to her own devices but instead he deemed her worthy of being his hunting partner. He had taught her things she couldn't comprehend at the time but he also opened eyes to the harsh reality of the world and, given that her innocent naïveté nearly got her killed, she was grateful for that.

However, she would never be able to thank him for all he had done for her. Never thank him for saving her life, taking care of her, being the compassionate friend she needed in a time of hardship. He had spent his life dedicating himself to protecting the mountains from the Wendigos and her actions had ruined that for him. Beth knew she would never be able to completely make it up to him, but there was somewhere she could start.

"But I'm gonna make this right!", she exclaimed determinedly. "I could be a coward and just up and run away, but there's no way I'm doing that. You dedicated your life to something admirable and I'm not gonna let your efforts go to waste!"

She took in a slow breath and let it out shakily. "I promise that I will continue your work, Jack. You've saved me on multiple occasions so the least I can do is make sure the mountain stays protected and your memory lives on!"

Beth knelt down and patted the grave tenderly. "And I will keep that promise, Jack. No matter how long it takes, I'm gonna get those monsters."

Her voice was silent but it carried so much hardened determination. She couldn't keep her promise to Hannah, but she wasn't going to let anything stop her from keeping hers to Jack.

* * *

When Beth reentered the Sanitarium, she smiled lightly at Wolfie and Snowfall barrelled towards her and she knelt down to ruffle their furs. Even after everything that had happened, the wolves didn't resent her for causing Jack's death. Maybe they didn't think it was her fault but she would be so lucky.

"Hey guys, I know this is going to be hard without Jack, but I'm gonna make sure that we get through this together. I may not have the connection Jack had with the two of you but hopefully we can still get along."

Of course the wolves couldn't say anything in response so they simply licked her hand playfully. She chuckled halfheartedly and stroked their furs.

 _Yeah… I can… I can do this…_

* * *

Before Beth had buried Jack, she had taken off his flamethrower weapon and laid it down next to his bag. She didn't know what to do with his belongings but she couldn't just leave them lying around. She emptied its contents onto the table and saw a box of bullets tumble out, causing Beth to roll her eyes. However, her face morphed into shock when she saw the other stuff laid out before her.

For a moment she thought that her eyes were tricking her but once she picked it up, she knew that she wasn't being fooled. She turned the item over in her hand and placed the other over her mouth to muffle her cry.

The watch that she lost in the fall. Jack had told her that he had found a bunch of her other belongings but she didn't fixate on that at the time. Now, however, it just drove the guilt further into her. He had gone through so much trouble for her and all she did was throw it back into his face.

 _Yeah, I definitely have a lot to make up for._

After putting her watch back on (it was smashed to pieces but she didn't care), Beth sorted through the other stuff but she was even more caught off guard at the sight of something that didn't belong to her.

The trinket from Hannah's locket.

She began weeping again when she flicked it open to see a small of picture of her and Hannah. She had given it to her sister as a gift and now it had to be returned to her.

A memory then flashed across her mind. Jack said that he found Hannah's body but didn't say much beyond that. With that thought in mind, Beth bolted back out the door.

* * *

Beth thought that she would've learnt from her reckless actions but she decided to allow herself one lady risk before getting her act together. Properly. She and Jack had headed into the mines numerous times before that she was able to just run there without stopping once. She was winded by the time she was down in the mines but she wasn't deterred from her goal.

During the whole time she had been in the mountains she had never returned to the place where she and Hannah had fallen into. It seemed like a good idea at the time, since the Wendigo had presumably dragged her away by the time Beth returned to the spot where she left her.

And now she felt as if she were walking back into the beginning of her never ending nightmare. She didn't have a set location in mind so all she was able to do was wander around aimlessly. It tore her up inside to think that this was where Hannah possibly spent her lost moments. Where Beth both made and broke her promise.

She kicked a lone stone in pathetic frustration. She didn't even know fully what she was expecting to find. What was she expecting to find? More sorrow? More torturous images to ram herself with guilt even more?

 _Wow, here's a new low: self-pitying while others are dying around me._

Those sort of thoughts were so fleeting now that she couldn't be bothered to put a stop to them. After all, there was nothing that could stop them.

As much as she didn't want to go anywhere near this place let alone the mines because of the painful experiences and memories, Beth couldn't break anymore promises. It wasn't even about pride at this point; the promises were more about the people she was making them for. She couldn't let them down, even if they were gone.

Beth was about wander even further the existential rabbit hole when yet another concerning sight caught her eye. She didn't even waste time sprinting up to it to make sure that her mind wasn't playing tricks on her. That she hadn't completely gone made.

Laid on top of a square patch of dirt was a makeshift wooden cross. One that read:

Hannah Washington.

Her gaze travelled from the cross to the dirt beneath her and laid a trembling hand on top of it. "Oh… sis.", she whispered weakly. She didn't even have to guess who had done this. As much as she would've wanted to say goodbye to Hannah properly, she was somewhat grateful that Jack had spared her from the gruesome image she was supposedly left in when he had found her. She didn't know when exactly when Jack was going to tell her, but Beth figured that it was better late than never.

She bowed her head as a realisation came to mind. This… this was what she was searching for: closure. This was the final nail on the coffin for her to admit that her sister was truly gone. It tore her up inside but Beth had already grieved. She didn't have it in her to scream up at the sky about how unfair this was because that wouldn't change anything. Hannah was dead and there was nothing she could do about it. That didn't stop her from weeping quietly non stop for solid several minutes. She would allow herself this final moment of weakness.

The scars left on her heart would never truly fade as Hannah deserved a fate far better than this. To think that her life had ended in the span of one night, she couldn't imagine what she must've been feeling at the time. Beth began wondering what could've happened if it had been the other way; if she had been the one that died and Hannah had survived. Would she be standing over Beth's grave?

But wondering about the what ifs wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't change the fact that she was alive and Hannah was dead. She wasn't going to let that bring her down though.

"Hey, sis. I know it's been while.", she chuckled dryly. "Sorry I didn't drop by earlier, had a lot of stuff to take care of." She wrapped her hands around her biceps. "And I'm… really sorry that I couldn't save you in time. Nothing can excuse that." Her breath caught in her throat. "I just… I hope that you can forgive me someday…"

She laid her hand on the grave once again. "But I don't plan on leaving any time soon. Looks like I'm here to stay. Can't separate us if they tried." Who the supportive smile was for, she had no idea. She sat around talking to Hannah for several more minutes so that the two of them could 'catch up'.

The reunion was cut short, however, when Beth heard the far away shriek of a Wendigo. She instinctively rushed to her feet and was ready to make a break for it but turned back to Hannah's grave. "Don't worry, I'll be back." She would've said more if the Wendigo wasn't heading in her direction. "See you around, Hannah." And with that, Beth sprinted off.

She may not have been a talented Wendigo Hunter, not by a long shot, but that wasn't going to stop her from trying.

* * *

Beth was roused from sleep when she felt Wolfie nudge her slightly with his nose. She smiled tiredly and ruffled his fur. "Morning, buddy." The wolf licked her hand and trotted down to Snowfall downstairs. She swiftly stood up from the battered mattress and stretched her arms, yawning slightly.

She picked up her journal from beside her and began to flick through the pages. She had found the notebook in the Sanitarium months ago and had used it as a way to keep track of her days in the mountains. With no proper way of defining the date, Beth had to remember the date she and Hannah 'disappeared' and then count the number of days since.

Usually, Beth wouldn't have any problems marking the date in the journal but today was a particularly important yet painful one.

 _One year… Time flies, I guess._

The events of the past year had stuck with Beth in more ways than none, but she had no way of preparing for how she was going to handle the anniversary. For many, it was the anniversary of their disappearance but, for Beth, it was the anniversary of Hannah's death. The months following the night where Jack breathed his final breath and Beth had finally accepted Hannah's fate had been brutal. There were days where she was too ashamed to even leave the Sanitarium because it just didn't feel _right_ going out hunting without Jack.

Beth even had trouble figuring out how Jack's old flamethrower worked. At first, she felt like she was betraying him by taking up his weapon, but if she was going to capture the Wendigos, she would something a little more powerful than a shotgun. In hindsight, she didn't even know why she was making such a big deal out of it. If Jack had a way of telling her, he would've told her to take the stupid thing. It felt completely foreign to her, though. While her family had been around guns before, handling a flamethrower was a completely different story.

Nevertheless, she preserved and spent a couple of days simply figuring out how to work it properly. For her first time using out in the woods she, surprisingly, didn't catch a Wendigo. She didn't expect herself to be an expert from day one but the experience was slightly disheartening. However, the more times she used it, the more skilled she became. Even if the hunts had ended in disaster, she was more confident in her skills than before.

In the last several months, she had only been able to capture two Wendigos. However, according to the numbers she saw in Jack's notebook, that meant that were still two to go. She groaned to herself. When would this end?

She shook those thoughts away.

She had a day to get on with.

* * *

Beth had spent the day patrolling the mountains, as par her routine, and she was now able to do with much more ease. At some point, the police seemed to have given up with the investigation and abandoned entirely. Even though she knew that they were just doing their jobs, Beth couldn't help but feel relieved. At least she wouldn't have to worry about Wendigos finding others…

She stopped in her tracks when she saw a horrifying sight (what was new there?). A deer seemed to be ripped to shreds and laid dead and bloody in the snow. Beth sighed to herself and knelt down beside it. Sadly, this wasn't a rare occurrence to her. Since the Wendigo couldn't seem to find any worthy humans to eat, it began to opt for the animals of the mountains.

It seemed as if the Wendigos were playing a cruel mind trick on her. As sad as the deer's deaths would be, Beth never left the carcass as it was. She needed food too. Food that didn't just come out of a can. That would mean she would salvage generous chunks of the deer and take it back to cook at the Sanitarium and also give to the wolves. But Beth wasn't definitely nothing like the Wendigos. She did this in order to survive, not for the primal enthusiasm.

With those thoughts in mind, Beth took out her hunting knife and dropped several pieces of meat into a plastic bag. She slipped into her bigger backpack and left the scene. However, she didn't kick around the snow to hide the blood. After all, who else would be there to see it?

Nightfall was fast approaching now and Beth had to get back to the Sanitarium to plan her route of hunting for the night. Recently, it seemed as if the Wendigos favoured new routes around the mines. That was why she was venturing further than even Jack was used to, as risky as it was. It was almost as if they wanted to throw her off routine.

 _Yep. Definitely messing with me._

She sighed to herself once again and was about to pass the cable car station when she heard it abruptly click open. Beth was caught off guard for a millisecond before bolting backward and further into the trees so that she could hide behind them without anyone seeing her.

Who in their right mind would come here?

Beth was about to eat her words when she saw who exactly it was. She actually had to rub her eyes to make sure that she was seeing clearly. That her mind wasn't playing tricks on her (stranger things had happened).

But, no, it wasn't a trick of the mind. It was very much real, because standing in the doorway of the cable car station-

 _Of_ all _the people to come here_ today _of all days…_

-was Michael Monroe.

* * *

 **AND CUE THE OPENING CREDITS!**

 **Wow guys, we're finally going into the main game from this point, guess you can look at this as end of part 1!**

 **Sorry if the time skip felt too rushed, but we will be getting flashbacks of Beth's hunting times throughout!**

 **Huge thanks to you guys sticking around for this long, it means a lot! Hope you all enjoy what comes next!**


	17. Chapter 17

**Thanks a lot for being patient with this story and, once again, thanks for the lovely comments that you guys are leaving, hope you enjoy what comes next!**

 **Important note: I have got exams coming up in a few weeks, so the next update will (most likely) be in July. Worry not, this isn't going to be abandoned, when my exams are over, I'll be back to writing!**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Until Dawn, its plot/story or characters. Those rights go to Supermassive Games and Sony Computer Entertainment.**

* * *

You've got to be kidding me.

You've got to be kidding me.

You have _got_ to me kidding me.

The same insisted thought persisted through Beth's mind as she stomped through the woods and back to the Sanitarium. She was more than ready to face the anniversary on her own, but to have even more reminders of that dreadful night? Now that was too far.

Despite being stuck on the mountain for a year, Beth never had it in her to address the painful memories of her friends. In all honesty, she couldn't bring herself to care because she assumed that she would never have to see them again. Well, a lot of good _that_ did her. Beth had never learned of the details that had driven Hannah to run from the lodge, but she wasn't sure if she even wanted to know.

Beth stopped in her tracks as another dreadful thought entered her mind:

There was no way that Mike was planning on coming here _alone_. She tangled her fingers through her hair in frustration at the thought of more of her friends coming up here. The police, she could handle, but a bunch of college kids? And knowing what her friends were like?

She groaned. This was going to be long weekend.

* * *

"Bad news, guys.", Beth called out to Snowfall and Wolfie as the two wolves sprinted to get her. She knelt down and stroked their furs soothingly. "Looks like we're gonna have some company for a while now. She pulled out her bag of meat and fed each of them a small bite that they took greedily. "Yeah, I know it's not ideal. I mean, we've essentially got to watch everyone's back now."

She sighed heavily and then scratched their heads supportively. "But we'll be fine. We can handle this together."

Beth felt like a babysitter at this point; looking out for a bunch of people who had no clue as to what was going on around them. Was this how Jack felt everyday? Probably.

As much as Beth wanted to go up to the lodge, she couldn't bring herself to. That would inevitably lead to an uncomfortable explanation of how and why Beth was alive and fighting against a cursed mountain. And also having to admit that she failed to save both her sister and her friend. No, she couldn't afford that pain at this point. If Beth simply kept her distance from everyone and instead focused on keeping the Wendigos away from her friends, things would be fine.

Beth looked out the window. Sundown was in a matter of hours. She had a _lot_ of preparing to do.

* * *

Said preparations involved carrying out final checks on the captured Wendigos, making sure that the cages were still sturdy and that the remaining ones were open wide with bait visibly inside if she had to trap the rest. She also triple checked the barricade blocking the tunnel that lead to the lodge's basement. Beth had considered it when she was alone in her efforts and the police were still roaming the mountains. With the possibility of the police investigations uncovering the truth of the Sanitarium at the back of her mind, Beth gathered the means and resources to block the connection the best she could.

With all of that out of the way, Beth pulled out Jack's notebook, flipping to a new page. If all her friends were going to be around the mountain and at the lodge, Beth decided that it would be useful to note down where they were going to be hanging out throughout the night. She didn't know how long they were going to be staying for, but they would definitely be safe by morning. It was nighttime that she was worried about. Keeping tabs on a bunch of people was going to be difficult but if she was going to keep everyone from the Wendigos, she was just going to have to go to such precautions.

She wasn't as capable in keeping Jack or Hannah safe. She would try her best here, or die trying.

* * *

Sam sighed as she and Chris approached the lodge. She had hoped that the place wouldn't bring back any painful memories but, realistically, that was going to be impossible. Last year, she had lost two of her friends and all of them never had the chance to make amends with either of them. Because of a stupid prank that the others played on Hannah, she and Beth suffered greatly as a result. For the first few months, they all held onto wishful thinking that they were simply lost and would eventually turn up. However, every single time the police came back with nothing, one by one, they stopped hoping for the best.

They had to face the painful truth: Hannah and Beth were gone and they were never coming back. Hopefully, this weekend would help them move past everything. However, Sam was worried about how Josh was going to handle everything. That night he had lost both of his sisters and, for most of the year, he had largely resented the group. It had taken a long time for him to open up to even her or Chris, so for him to suggest a get-together on the anniversary struck them all as a little odd.

But, hey, if this Josh's way of getting closure, Sam wasn't going to complain.

"Hope this goes okay.", she told Chris as they walked towards the lodge.

Chris frowned and shot a confused look at her. "What do you mean?"

Sam shrugged. "Well, it's been a long time since we all hung out together like this, but I can tell that things are gonna be awkward." She sighed. "And I know how important it is to Josh that we have a great time."

"Yeah.", Chris agreed. "He has seemed a lot happier these days."

Sam nodded. "Exactly. So if something goes wrong-"

"Hey.", he interrupted. "We shouldn't think about that. We should just go up there, have fun and it'll be like old times."

"Right.", Sam said quietly. "Old times."

 _Without Hannah and Beth._

* * *

The Wendigos shrieked and lunged for their prison bars as Beth was making her way to the corridor. With a deadpan expression, she turned back around the corner and, moments later, came back with a rusted pipe. Being careful that the Wendigos didn't grab her, she bang the pipe against each of the cages, smirking when it agitated each and every one of them.

Hey, Beth lived in an old Sanitarium with two wolves for company. She had to entertain herself somehow.

As much as she wanted to burn the Wendigos to a crisp to ensure that none of them suffered again, Beth couldn't run the risk of the evil spirits roaming free and someone possibly getting stuck in the mines at the same time. Besides, Jack had spent his life making sure that the Wendigos were captured, so if she threw that away, she would basically be spitting in the face of everything that Jack worked for. And he definitely didn't die for some kid to destroy all of that.

She sighed as she looked out of the window again. The misty clouds were shielding the sun but Beth could tell the nightfall was just around the corner. She gripped her flamethrower tightly and headed for the door.

This was going to be a long night.

* * *

Sam huffed as she sat on the stairs inside of the lodge with her head resting on her fist. As Jess and Emily were at it. Again. _So much for old times._ A lot had happened in the last year and if things weren't rocky amongst the group before, they definitely were now. She couldn't help but roll her eyes at the 'boyfriend/girlfriend' drama. Emily was still bitter at the fact that Mike had broken up with her only to date her former best friend and some believed that she only dated Matt because she was rebounding hard.

Their social circle, however, tried to stay out of their business and get on with their own lives. Josh had diffused the 'cat fight' as well as one could've but the animosity still hung in the air. Even after both couples had left the lodge, Josh, Sam, Chris and Ashley found it difficult to make something that wasn't awkward small talk.

It had been a long time since they had all hung out together, let alone at the lodge, so they were drawing a blank on how they used to have fun whenever they visited the mountain.

Ashley rocked back on her heels, still struggling to warm up from inside the chilly lodge. "So…", she drawled out. "What should we do know?"

Josh clapped his hands together. "Well, how about you guys go on a little scavenger hung around the lodge, while I figure out how to make this place less of a freezer and more of a place for humans."

Chris frowned. "So, essentially, you're leaving us to figure it out?"

"It's not like you're doing all the work." He gestured to the fireplace. "Fire."

Sam sat up from her seat from the steps and followed after Chris and Ashley. "Fine." She pointed at Josh as she walked away. "Just don't set the place on fire while we're gone."

Josh held up three fingers. "Scout's honour."

"You weren't even a boy scout."

"The sentiment still stands.", he replied with a wink.

Sam shook her head in amusement. When she caught up to the other two, she heard Chris mutter, "Okay… fun… fun…" He looked to Ashley. The way she looked at him expectantly but innocently for an answer made him stutter nervously. "What do we usually do for fun?"

"Well.", Sam said herself. "This is definitely going to be an interesting night."

* * *

Matt rolled his eyes when Emily growled as they left the lodge. "Seriously, Em? I thought we said that we wouldn't let them get to us."

Emily pouted and crossed her arms. "Well, it's kind of hard when those air-heads were so busy flaunting their perfect relationship.", she sneered.

"I doubt that was what they were doing.", Matt replied, his tone betraying the fact that he wasn't taking this seriously.

"Really?", Emily asked incredulously. "Did you ever Mike and I kissing each other non stop where all our friends could see?"

Matt winced. Picturing his girlfriend making out with her ex-boyfriend wasn't a pleasant thought. "I guess, some couples show affection in different ways.", he said, trying to placate his girlfriend with an explanation.

Emily scoffed. "Yeah, right. He's so trying to make me jealous."

"So what if he is?", Matt retorted. "If anything, it's probably because he's jealous because we're doing so well."

"Really?", Emily asked reluctantly, looking at the ground nervously.

"Yeah.", Matt replied determinedly. "Besides, he broke up with you. Why would he try to make you jealous in the first place?"

Even though Emily could see Matt's side of things, she was obviously trying to come up with an excuse for her ex-boyfriend's actions. Why Emily was trying to do such a thing, Matt didn't know and it wasn't something that he didn't want to think too deeply into.

"His loss then.", Emily said finally and walked up to Matt. "Since he can't have me back." She passionately pecked his lips.

Matt grinned in response. "Ohh, that's good to hear.", he said teasingly. "So, promise me that we'll at least try to have a good time."

Emily rolled her eyes and giggled. "Promise." She took Matt by the hand. "Come on. Let's have some fun this weekend."

* * *

Hiking across the mountain and towards the lodge wasn't much of a concern for Beth. Whenever she had to make her way around and avoid the eyes of the police, the heavy snow made it useful to literally cover her tracks. Now with her friends staying in the lodge, she was unsure if they would venture out through the mountain, but had the comfort of knowing that her tracks weren't going to be seen. Easily, at least.

Getting close to the lodge proved to be a challenge. Partly because of her focus on it being caught but mostly at the anxiety rising within her about getting close to her friends again. Even if they weren't going to be seeing her, the guilt she felt over the past year came rushing back like poison in her gut. So, if the risk of getting caught wasn't motivation enough, she had no intention of making direct contact.

 _Still_ , Beth thought, _it would be fun, I guess, getting to see everyone after a year._

Her friends.

Her _brother_.

Yet another reason why she had no intention of speaking to anyone. Out of everyone, Josh was the last person that she wanted to talk to about what she did. Talking to him would involve having to admit that she failed to protect and rescue her sister. And there was no way that she was ready for that.

She wasn't ready then and she was definitely wasn't ready now.

* * *

It was when she had reached the six month marker that Beth had truly began to feel the crushing loneliness and vulnerability. There were less and less police with each recent passing day and she could deduce that they were giving up on searching for her and Hannah. On the one hand, she was relieved, since it meant that she no longer had to watch their backs. However, on the other, there was now little to no hope of seeing another person on the mountain. At least when the police were around, it gave Beth a sense of civilisation, that she was never truly alone.

Well, it was now time to say goodbye to that.

Presumably, for the rest of her time on the mountain. The rest of her life. Well, not entirely.

The first time it happened was a month after the police had ceased their investigations. She had been patrolling the mountains through the night and had no run-ins with a Wendigo and dawn was just breaking. That was her cue to start making her way back to the Sanitarium and Beth's gaze kept on wandering to the horizon as the morning sun peeked out from behind the clouds, though it wasn't as if it were going to warm the chilly atmosphere.

However, Beth stopped in her trek when she saw movement through the trees some ways from her. She didn't have time to ponder and instead opted for hiding behind the nearest and thickest tree trunk to shield her appearance. Who in their right mind would be heading to the lodge? Especially after the amount of time that had passed since the police closed the investigation, she didn't expect anyone to be roaming around. She peeked out from behind the tree, but couldn't get a good look at who was there.

Curiosity getting the better of her, she quickly surged forward and went behind the next tree. Still, she couldn't see clearly. She repeated the process several more times, being sure that she was following behind the person so that they couldn't catch sight of her. However, by the time the person was just about to reach the front steps of the lodge, Beth spotted who it was.

And her sorrow came back to crush her all over again.

Her big brother, Josh.

He was carrying two bulky duffel bags, one in his hand and the other over his shoulder. Based on the strained expression on his face, it looked like he was carrying a lot. For what reason, Beth didn't know. At this time of year, what was the purpose of Josh bringing stuff into the lodge? Did their parents even know that he had travelled up there?

Bringing a hand up to her mouth to stifle a cry, Beth turned back around to hide around the tree. She wanted nothing more than to rush up her big brother and bring him into a hug. To cry in his arms, reassure him that she was okay, tell him how sorry she was about failing to keep Hannah with her.

But that was what scared her. She didn't want to explain what had happened during her time in the mountains, revealing the dark secret that stole her sister away. Besides, she made a promise to Jack that she'd continue his work. She wasn't going to give that up the second she caught sight of her family. How petty would that make her? Hunting down the remaining Wendigos and protecting who visited the mountain were all she could do to make sure that Jack's work didn't go to waste. This was also her way of making up for her weakness that led to Hannah's death. She had suffered the loss of two people close to her and she wasn't going to let that happen to her ever again.

So that's why she left Josh be and turned and headed back towards the Sanitarium. It was only daybreak so her brother would be safe for the time being. If anything went south, however, she would be there. She would protect others like Jack had protected her. What she wanted to do when Hannah's life was at stake.

She would keep the promise that she made and she wouldn't step a foot off this mountain until that promise was fulfilled.

However, what if, even after this was all over, she didn't deserve to go back home?

* * *

Beth shook that memory away. There wasn't much point in dwelling on that thought. She made that decision a long time ago and she hasn't changed her mind since. Even though Beth didn't want to make direct contact with her friends and brother, she would at least have the comfort of knowing that they were safe and protected. And as far away from her and the Wendigos as possible.

Keeping eight people safe and away from cursed creatures? Yeah. She could make that work. Probably. Beth (and Jack for the first few months) had spent time keeping the police away from the Wendigos, so it wasn't much different now. However, at the same time, Beth couldn't help but feel a lot more pressure in this instance. With the police, Beth felt no connection to them, however, with her friends, there was more at stake. All seven of her friends and her older brother were now at risk, which meant that Beth had to work and fight just as hard to make sure that nothing drastic.

Well, she couldn't promise that nothing drastic would happen, but Beth could promise that she would do all that she could to make sure that not one person's blood was on her hands. That's why her determination couldn't waver, no matter what. She had to put aside her personal fears and conflicts to be the protector that Jack was to her. If only she could tell him of all she was doing to carry on his work and memory. Based on those painful final moments with Jack, he didn't blame her for what had happened. In fact, he was the one apologising to her. He had felt so guilty for what he had done even when he was letting out his final breath.

All to protect her, a stubborn teenager. But that wasn't what she as going to be anymore. She wasn't going to be just like Jack, that much she knew, but she was going to take on what she had learned from him and show these Wendigos who had the real strength.

Stealthily approaching the lodge once again, Beth hid herself when she saw two people standing on the wooded balcony. They seemed to be conversing but Beth couldn't hear nor make out who they were. However, they started to go on the move as they headed down the stairs and away from the lodge. Beth manoeuvred herself so that they didn't catch sight of her and, when they were at a closer distance, she was absolutely gobsmacked.

Mike and Jess. Alone. Holding hands.

Beth had expected a lot have stuff to have gone during the past year, but Mike presumably splitting up with Emily and to get together with Jess was definitely a possibility that she didn't consider. Just how much did she miss?

She ran a hand over her head as she processed this new information. Mike and Jess were together.

They were a _thing_.

Oh, now _this_ she had to see.

* * *

 **I'm used to writing Beth and Jack, so I hope that the other characters were okay here! See you guys next time!**


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